Plasma electrolytic deposition on aluminum tubes

Abstract

Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO), also called micro-arc oxidation or anode spark deposition, is a novel technique to produce hard ceramic coatings on metals, such as aluminum, titanium, magnesium and their alloys (called by a joint name of valve metals). Up to now, almost all the researchers focused attention on the PEO process for samples of regular shapes such as cubes, discs or rods, and no one paid attention to the irregular samples such as tubes. In this work, the PEO behavior of aluminum tubes was investigated. The potential difference, which had a liner relation with the coating thickness inside the tube, was measured. A central axial accessorial electrode was used to eliminate the effect of potential decay inside tubes, which was effective for obtaining axially uniform coating on the inner surface of the tube.