An example hydraulic system component of a machine includes a protective coating deposited by high velocity air fuel (HVAF) thermal spray, exhibiting high adhesion strengths and surface morphologies that promote lubricant adhesion and reduce the leakage of oil and/or hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic system. The coating may have surface roughness with Rz values less than 2 μm and hardness of 1000 Vickers or greater. The HVAF coating may be thinner than conventional coatings with thicknesses less than 100 μm. The HVAF coating may be deposited on a variety of steel components with adhesion strengths greater than those achieved by high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF). The HVAF coating may be formed without time consuming roughening and/or post-grind operations, resulting in cost savings compared to conventional coatings. The coatings may have operational lifetimes of 1000 hours or more.

A forming method of an yttrium oxide fluoride (YOF) coating film and a (YOF) coating film formed thereby are disclosed. The YOF coating film has no or extremely small pores therein and a nanostructure to increase light transmittance thereof, and has high hardness and high bonding strength and thus can protect a transparent window of a display device. The method for forming an YOF coating film involves the steps of: providing pretreated YOF powder having a particle diameter ranging from 0.1 to 12 μm; receiving a transfer gas supplied from a transfer gas supply unit and receiving the pretreated YOF powder supplied from a powder supply unit to transfer the pretreated YOF powder in an aerosol state; and colliding/smashing (spraying) the pretreated YOF powder transferred in the aerosol state with/onto a substrate in a process chamber to form an YOF coating film on the substrate.

A functionally graded shape memory polymer (SMP) that has a range of transition temperatures that are spatially distributed in a gradient fashion within one single article. The SMP is formed by post-curing a pre-cured glassy SMP in a linear temperature gradient that imposes different vitrification temperature limits at different positions along the gradient. Utilizing indentation-based surface shape memory coupled with optical measurements of photoelastic response, the capability of this material to respond over a wide range of thermal triggers is correlated with the graded glass transition behavior. This new class of SMP offers great potential for such applications as passive temperature sensing and precise control of shape evolution during a thermally triggered shape recovery.

Disclosed is a hard coating film with high physical properties including hardness, scratch resistance, impact resistance, transparency, durability, light resistance, and light transmittance. The hard coating film can find useful applications in various fields thanks to its excellent physical properties.

Providing improved wear resistance to a metal material by hardening a surface layer and a surface layer hardening method. A base material is nitrided so that a metal material (40) has a surface layer hardened. The surface layer of the base material is formed with no nitrogen compound layer (40C), and the base material includes a region from a surface thereof to a depth of 78 μm, the region having a Vickers hardness higher than the base material by not less than 5%.

Methods and apparatus are provide for: a substrate having first and second opposing surfaces, and an elastic modulus; and layer(s) having a thickness between first and second opposing surfaces thereof, the first surface of the layer contacting the second surface of the substrate, forming an interface. The layer may exhibit one or more of: a first elastic modulus proximate to the first surface thereof and a second elastic modulus proximate to the second surface thereof, the second elastic modulus being substantially higher than the elastic modulus value, the first elastic modulus being lower than the elastic modulus of the substrate, the second elastic modulus being higher than the elastic modulus of the substrate, and the layer exhibiting an increasing elastic modulus gradient through the thickness thereof from the first elastic modulus to the second elastic modulus.

Among other things, piezoelectric materials and methods of their manufacture are described; particularly methods of forming regions of varying crystal structure within a relaxor piezoelectric substrate. Such methods may including heating the piezoelectric substrate above the transition temperature and below the Curie temperature such that a first phase transition occurs to a first crystal structure; rapidly cooling the piezoelectric substrate below the transition temperature at a cooling rate that is sufficiently high for the first crystal structure to persist; and applying an electric field through one or more selected regions of the piezoelectric substrate, such that within the one or more selected regions, a second phase transition occurs and results in a second crystal structure.

One or more aspects of the disclosure pertain to an article including a film disposed on a glass substrate, which may be strengthened, where the interface between the film and the glass substrate is modified, such that the article has an improved average flexural strength, and the film retains key functional properties for its application. Some key functional properties of the film include optical, electrical and/or mechanical properties. In one or more embodiments, the interface exhibits an effective adhesion energy of about less than about 4 J/m.sup.2. In some embodiments, the interface is modified by the inclusion of a crack mitigating layer containing an inorganic material between the glass substrate and the film.

Low CTE glass compositions and glass articles formed from the same are described. In one embodiment, a glass composition includes from about 60 mol. % to about 66 mol. % SiO.sub.2; from about 7 mol. % to about 10 mol. % AI.sub.2O.sub.3; and from about 14 mol. % to about 18 mol. % B.sub.2O.sub.3 as glass network formers. The glass composition may further include from about 9 mol. % to about 16 mol. % alkaline earth oxide. The alkaline earth oxide includes at least CaO. The CaO may be present in the glass composition in a concentration from about 3 mol. % to about 12 mol. %. The glass composition is free from alkali metals. The glass composition has a coefficient of thermal expansion which is less than or equal to 40×10.sup.−7/° C. averaged over the temperature range from about 20° C. to 300° C. The glass composition is particularly well suited for use as a glass cladding layer in a laminated glass article.

A protective coating layer, an electronic device including such a protective coating layer, and the methods of making the same are provided. The electronic device includes a substrate, a thin film circuit layer disposed over the substrate, and a protective coating layer disposed over the thin film circuit layer. The protective coating layer includes a first coating and a second coating disposed over the first coating. Each coating has a cross-plane thermal conductivity in a direction normal to a respective coating surface equal to or higher than 0.5 W/(m*K). The first coating and the second coating have different crystal or amorphous structures, different crystalline orientations, different compositions, or a combination thereof to provide different nanoindentation hardness. The first coating has a hardness lower than that of the second coating.