Mechanical Properties and Structural Analysis of Coatings and Engineered Surfaces

The enhancement of life and the performance of metal engineering components ismainly determined by surface characteristics. The latter has a pivotal role in enhancingthe life of products since they control the mechanical electrical thermal and electronicproperties. Nevertheless the surface and near-surface properties are crucial in failuremechanisms since the loss of performance and failures mostly begin from the surface.Research advances in the designing processing and characterizing of textured surfacesbroadly support innovative industrial applications and products.The performance improvement in engineering components during operation is achallenging issue and surface engineering methods have been attracting considerableinterest in both research and industrial fields. Even though many attempts have beenmade to face the wear of metals by tuning the physical chemical mechanical andmetallurgical properties of their surfaces several important aspects need to be stilldeepened.The present book collects original research papers and a review that covers the latestdevelopment in methods for enhancing the life and functionality of engineeringcomponents by tuning the physical chemical mechanical and metallurgical propertiesof their surfaces. Attention is focused on processing and characterizing methods capableof supporting industrial applications and products to both tackle surface degradationand improve the performance and reliability of components.