The effect of substrate properties on tribological behaviour of composite DLC coatings

The unique features of DLC coatings in providing low friction and low wear and, at the same time, causing low wear to the counterface make them very attractive in industrial applications, in improving tribological performance of mechanical components on various substrates. In this study, composite DLC coatings have been deposited on sintered ferrous alloy, M42 tool steel, 2618 aluminium alloy, and 6063 aluminium extrusion substrates using the combined CFUBMS–PACVD technique. The effect of mechanical properties of substrate materials on tribological behaviour of the composite DLC coatings has been investigated at various loads on a ball-on-disk wear machine in dry air. A transition load was usually observed for coatings on the various substrates except for the aluminium extrusion; above the transition load the coating was completely destroyed via some spallation/fragmentation process after 2 h sliding, and the wear rate increased dramatically with further increase in load. The coating system on sintered ferrous alloy substrate exhibited the highest transition load among the four types of substrates studied. This is considered to have resulted from the combined effects of the lower elastic modulus of the porous sintered ferrous alloy substrate, which decreases the stress concentrations in the contact region, and the surface roughness and porosity, which enhance the bonding strength between the coating and the substrate under multi-contact conditions. The high elastic modulus of the tool steel substrate leads to tensile stress conditions in the sliding contact region and therefore makes coatings deposited on such a substrate more prone to breakdown/fragmentation, resulting in a transition load close to that for coatings on the soft 2618 aluminium alloy substrate. For coatings on the 6063 aluminium extrusion substrate, significant plastic deformation occurred in the substrate at loads above 1.5 N. However, despite the heavy deformation in the substrate, coatings on this substrate were not scraped off, as were coatings on the 2618 aluminium alloy substrate, even at a load as high as 20 N. The specific wear rate increased continuously with load, no apparent transition load being explicitly identifiable. This study shows that hard DLC coatings can be applied on both hard and soft substrates for improvement of the tribological behaviour of mechanical components.     

Adhesion and abrasive wear resistance of TiN deposited on electrical discharge machined WC–Co cemented carbides

Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is a non-traditional machining method extensively used to manufacture complex geometries of hard and brittle materials such as WC–Co cemented carbides (CC). Although the thermal action of the EDM process is known to yield a relatively poor surface integrity in these materials, it may be minimized through the implementation of multi-step sequential EDM and post-EDM surface treatments. Particularly, hard coating application has been demonstrated to be effective for decreasing the EDM-induced mechanical degradation. However, additional studies are required on such coating–EDMed substrate systems to determine other crucial properties in terms of applications, e.g. adhesion and micro-scale wear behaviour. In this work the adhesion strength and the microabrasive wear resistance of TiN deposited on EDMed substrates have been evaluated by means of scratch and crater grinder testing, respectively. The results indicate that both critical load for decohesion of the coating from the substrate and coating specific wear rate increase with finer-executed EDM, reaching values close to those measured for a TiN coating deposited on a ground and polished substrate.     

基体负偏压对CrAlN涂层组织和性能的影响

采用真空多弧离子镀技术,使用Cr30Al70(原子分数)复合靶,在不同的基体负偏压下,在不锈钢基体上制备了一系列CrAlN涂层;采用能谱仪、X射线衍射仪、扫描电子显微镜、粗糙度仪、显微硬度仪、摩擦磨损试验机和划痕仪等系统分析了涂层的成分、表面形貌、相结构、粗糙度、显微硬度、摩擦磨损性能和界面结合性能。结果表明:随着负偏压的增大,涂层中x(Cr)/x(Cr+Al)的比值先增大后减小,当负偏压为150V时,该值达到最大,并与靶材成分接近;基体负偏压为200V时,涂层的表面粗糙度最大,涂层结晶度、硬度最佳,晶体相为固溶铬的面心立方AlN;涂层的摩擦磨损性能不仅与涂层的表面粗糙度相关,还与涂层非晶相中铝元素的含量以及涂层的内应力大小密切相关;界面过渡层制备工艺相同时,基体偏压对涂层和基体之间的界面结合性能影响较小。     

Thermal stability and high-temperature wear of Ti–TiN and TiN–CrN nanomultilayer coatings under self-mated conditions

Ti–TiN and TiN–CrN nanomultilayers were thermally stable retaining uniform and sharp layer interfaces up to 24 h at 773 K, without any oxidation or phase transformation accompanying each individual layer. Decreasing the multilayer spacing resulted in an increase in the hardness in both cases. The coating hardness was found to be independent of the substrate type, when applied on HS718, Ti64 and HCHCr substrates. In scratch testing, the multilayers displayed a better resistance to the onset of failure, as compared to the monolayer TiN. The substrate plasticity played an important role in determining the coating failure mode. Self-mated wear tests revealed the CrN–TiN system to exhibit the best wear behaviour, both at room temperature and at 773 K. The Ti–TiN coatings are more accommodative with all three substrates, as compared to TiN–CrN and TiN.     

Nanoscratch and nanowear testing of TiN coatings on M42 steel

Abstract

Constant load, progressive load and multipass nanoscratch (nanowear) tests were carried out on 500 and 1500 nm TiN coatings on M42 steel chosen as model systems. The influences of film thickness, coating roughness, scratch direction relative to the grinding grooves on the critical load in the progressive load test and number of cycles to failure in the wear test have been determined. Progress towards the development of a suitable methodology for determining the scratch hardness from nanoscratch tests is discussed.     

The study of the adhesion of a TiN coating on steel and titanium alloy substrates using a multi-mode scratch tester

A titanium nitride (TiN) coating was deposited by magnetron sputter ion plating onto steel and titanium alloy polished substrates. The adhesion of the coating on each substrate material was investigated using a newly developed multimode scratch tester. Progressive loading scratch tests, constant load scratch tests, multiple scratch tests in the same track and indentation tests were all performed. It was shown that the modified scratch tester can be used to identify not only coating detachment during progressive load scratch tests, but also other failure events such as cracking and cohesive damage to the coatings. By using the additional modes of operation, it was possible to study the fracture mechanisms in more detail i.e. chipping in the scratch track was cohesive for the TiN coated steel and adhesive for the TiN coated Ti alloy.     

Experiences from scratch testing of tribological PVD coatings

The use of PVD coatings in tribological applications becomes more and more widespread. Thus also the need to fully understand the relationships between the intrinsic properties of the coating, the properties of the coating/substrate composite and the tribological performance of the composite in different tribological systems becomes increasingly pressing. One of the tools available for tribological characterization of coatings and coating/substrate composites is scratch testing. In the current paper, Uppsala University presents a selection of results from many years of scratch testing of PVD coated components. Applications range from adhesion assessment and coating quality determination to estimation of coating fracture resistance. Examples in the form of scratch studies of PVD coatings on various high speed steels and tool steels - including failure mode anaiysis in situ SEM - are given.     

Substrate Effects on the Micro/Nanomechanical Properties of TiN Coatings

Nanoindentation and nanoscratch tests were performed for titanium nitride (TiN) coatings on different tool steel substrates to investigate the indentation/scratch induced deformation behavior of the coatings and the adhesion of the coating–substrate interfaces and their tribological property. In this work, TiN coatings with a thickness of about 500 nm were grown on GT35, 9Cr18 and 40CrNiMo steels using vacuum magnetic-filtering arc plasma deposition. In the nanoindentation tests, the hardness and modulus curves for TiN/GT35 reduced the slowest around the film thickness 500 nm with the increase of indentation depth, followed by TiN/9Cr18 and TiN/40CrNiMo. Improving adhesion properties of coating and substrate can decrease the differences of internal stress field. The scratch tests showed that the scratch response was controlled by plastic deformation in the substrate. The substrate plays an important role in determining the mechanical properties and wear resistance of such coatings. TiN/GT35 exhibited the best load-carrying capacity and scratch/wear resistance. As a consequence, GT35 is the best substrate for TiN coatings of the substrate materials tested.     

On the influence of surface finish of SSiC on the results of tribological laboratory tests in the case of water lubricated oscillating sliding

The development of materials for tribological applications requires characterisation of their friction and wear behaviour. This characterisation is often based on tribological model testing, working with simple shaped specimens, running under well-defined conditions. Discrepancies in test results may arise from the fact that non-standard tests with different sets of operational parameters are used. An essential starting point for the development of tribological standards is knowledge of the main parameters that influence the tribological properties. One aspect that is not often adequately taken into account is the surface finish of the test specimens. Results are presented of friction and wear tests with self-mated SSiC couples (ball on disc), running in water in an oscillating sliding mode. The surfaces of the disc were ground, lapped, or polished, respectively, running against a polished ball. For certain test conditions, the influence of the surface finish on wear is found to be negligible, while for other conditions, the wear rate can differ by one order of magnitude or even more. The consequences for the standardisation of wear tests of ceramic materials are discussed.     

Friction and Thermal Effects of Engineering Plastics Sliding Against Steel and DLN-Coated Counterfaces

Polymers are increasingly used in tribological applications, because of their self-lubricating ability, corrosion resistance and chemical compatibility. However, their performance depends strongly on the parameters of the total tribological system. Not only polymer characteristics, but also counterface properties become important because of their influence on friction and wear, on surface energy and on the thermal conductivity of the total system. Applying a Diamond-Like Nanocomposite (DLN) coating on a steel counterface can improve the tribological behaviour of the sliding couple under certain conditions. In the case of metal sliding against DLN, the high hardness and the wear resistance of the coating is advantageous for better tribological properties. However, for polymers sliding against DLN, the lower thermal conductivity of the DLN coating compared with a steel mating surface dominates friction and wear. In case of polyamides this results in worse tribological performance in contact with the DLN coating, because of polymer melting. In the case of more rigid polymers, such as, e.g., POM-H and PETP, lower coefficients of friction lead to lower frictional heat generation. In these cases, the thermal characteristics of the counterface are less important and the lower surface energy of the DLN coating is favourable for decreased adhesion between the polymer and the coating and consequently better tribological properties.     

The effects of AlCrN coating,surface modification and their combination on the tribological properties of high speed steel under dry conditions

In this study, the effects of a combination of ultrasonic nanocrystalline surface modification (UNSM) technique and AlCrN coating on the tribological properties of high speed steel (HSS) were investigated. The AlCrN coating with a thickness of about 3 µm was deposited by the physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique onto the polished and UNSM-treated HSS specimens. The tribological and scratch tests results revealed that the AlCrN coating deposited onto the UNSM-treated specimen showed better tribological properties compared to that of the AlCrN coating deposited onto the polished specimen, which may be attributed to the modified surface beneath the AlCrN coating. Hence, it is expected that the results of this study can be applied to reduce the wear of fine blanking punches.     

Study of tribological properties of coating/substrate system in micrometer and nanometer scales with a scanning probe microscope

We have used a scanning probe microscope equipped with a custom made diamond tip to study tribological properties of an inorganic–organic hybrid Si, O, H, and C coating produced by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on siloxane/acrylic/polycarbonate multilayer substrates and on glass substrates. The micro indentation hardness and micro mar resistance were measured under different normal forces, and the critical loads for cracking, delamination, and chipping were evaluated. The effects of substrate, coating thickness, and interfacial adhesion on tribological properties of the coating/substrate systems are discussed. The results show that increasing coating thickness and strengthening interfacial adhesion can effectively inhibit cracking, delamination, and chipping of the coating/substrate systems under wear. Improving the physical properties of the PECVD coating and substrate, such as enhancing elastic recovery, reducing plasticity and brittleness, and matching the properties of coating and substrate better can improve the wear resistance of the systems further.     

Mechanical and tribological properties of vapour deposited low friction coatings on Ni plated substrates

Soft steel and aluminium substrates with load-carrying layers of electroplated nickel were coated with commercially available low friction vapour deposited coatings. The mechanical and tribological properties of the coating and substrate composites were evaluated with special emphasis on the influence of the nickel layer. Two different thicknesses of the intermediate load-carrying nickel layer were tested. The samples were evaluated regarding friction and sliding wear, abrasive wear, hardness and elastic modulus, morphology and coating thickness and adhesion between substrate and coating. It was found that all the evaluated low friction coatings were possible to be successfully deposited on the intermediate nickel layer. A relatively thick intermediate nickel layer is a promising candidate for improvement of the load-carrying capacity.     

Mechanical and Tribological Properties of TiTaBN Graded-Composite Coatings Deposited Using the CFUBMS Technique

In this study, TiTaBN graded-composite coatings were deposited utilizing different process parameters on D2 steel and glass substrates using pulsed DC closed-field unbalanced magnetron sputtering (CFUBMS). The morphology and structure of the coatings were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectroscopy. The hardness and critical load values of the coatings were determined using a microhardness tester and scratch tester, respectively. The tribological properties of the coatings were analyzed in different testing environments using a pin-on-disc tribometer. The properties of the coatings were found to be strongly affected by the coating parameters. The maximum thickness and hardness were obtained at the lowest nitrogen flow rate and highest frequency. Critical load values of coatings were increased with increased nitrogen flow rate. The low nitrogen flow rate and high frequency across the coatings resulted in enhanced tribological properties.     

不同基体CrN/CrCN多层涂层海水环境摩擦学性能研究*

为研究不同基体材料对CrN/CrCN多层涂层在海水环境下摩擦学性能的影响,采用多弧离子镀技术在H65铜合金、TC4钛合金和316L不锈钢基体上沉积CrN和CrN/CrCN多层复合涂层,通过XRD、SEM等技术对涂层的结构进行表征,通过结合力、硬度测试和摩擦磨损试验分析涂层在大气环境和海水环境下的力学性能和摩擦学性能。结果表明:CrN/CrCN多层涂层的内应力相对于CrN明显减小,且硬度相对CrN涂层较高;TC4钛合金为基体的涂层结合力较好且涂层硬度较高;在海水环境下涂层的摩擦因数相对于大气环境都有较大幅度下降,其中,以TC4钛合金和316L不锈钢为基体的涂层摩擦因数较小;以H65铜合金为基体的2种涂层在海水中的磨损率高于大气中,而以TC4合金、316L不锈钢为基体的CrN/CrCN多层涂层在海水环境下的磨损率低于大气环境;TC4钛合金为基体的CrN/CrCN多层涂层在海水环境下具有最低的磨损率,表明TC4钛合金更适合作为海水环境下CrN/CrCN多层涂层耐磨的基体材料。     

Hardness effect of stainless steel substrates on tribological properties of water-lubricated DLC films against AISI 440C ball

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited on stainless steel substrates with different hardness by thermal electron excited plasma CVD method, and their tribological properties in water-lubricated conditions were investigated. EDS was used to estimate the wear of the films. The results show that the hardness of the substrates has little effect on the friction and, the wear loss of the films is much smaller than that measured by an optical interferometer. The deep wear track is mainly due to the plastic deformation of the substrates and the films but not due to wear. However, the failure of the films is closely related to the hardness of their substrates. The harder the substrate, the higher the failure-resistant capability. The film deposited on a soft substrate is easy to crack and fail due to the low deformation resistance of the substrate and rubbing at a high contact-pressure. On the other hand, the wear of the counter balls increases with the hardness of the substrates.     

Achieving High Tribological Performance of Graphite-like Carbon Coatings on Ti6Al4V in Aqueous Environments by Gradient Interface Design

A duplex treatment involving nitrogen ion pre-implantation and gradient interfacial transition was performed to obtain a high-performance graphite-like carbon (GLC) coating on a Ti6Al4V alloy. Characteristics of the as-deposited coating systems were systemically investigated by Raman spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, nano-indentation, and scratch tests. The friction and wear behaviors in distilled water and sea water environments were evaluated by a ball-on-disk tribometer. The results showed that the GLC multilayer coating on nitrogen ion-implanted Ti6Al4V possessed a greater hardness and adhesion strength than to that on un-implanted Ti6Al4V. The tribological performances of these duplex process systems showed a great improvement in both the distilled water and sea water environments. In particular, the Cr/CrN/GLC coatings on nitrogen ion-implanted substrates demonstrated the best friction and wear behaviors. These striking improvements were attributed to the greatly enhanced interface strength between substrate and coating by the nitrogen ion implantation process and improved adhesion strength between gradient layers by the appropriate gradient interlayers with a similar thermal expansion coefficient.     

氮气流量比对CrN涂层结构及摩擦磨损性能的影响

采用直流磁控溅射技术在不同氮气流量比下在YG6基体上制备CrN涂层,通过X射线衍射仪(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)及能谱仪(EDS)分析涂层相组成、涂层形貌与涂层元素成分,利用数字式显微硬度仪、划痕仪测定涂层硬度与涂层结合力,在摩擦磨损试验机考察涂层摩擦学性能。结果表明:氮气流量比(氮气流量占气体总流量的比例)为20%、30%时,CrN/YG6涂层结构相对疏松,呈柱状生长;氮气流量比为40%、50%时,CrN/YG6涂层结构较致密,呈三角颗粒状生长;随氮气流量比增大,涂层硬度先增大后减小,当氮气流量比为40%时达到最大值HV1 752.5;CrN涂层的摩擦因数随氮气流量比的增大变化不大,但磨损率先增大后减小再增大,当氮气流量比为40%时达到最小值2.03×10~(-8)mm~3/(N·mm)。研究表明,当氮气流量比为40%时,所制备的CrN涂层具有良好的综合性能。     

Grey theory applied to evaluate the tribological performances of the a-C:H(N) coating films prepared by differing the nitrogen content and the film thickness

The purpose of this paper is to study the tribology performances of the aC:H(N) films by using a nanotester under different scratch loads and velocities. From the measurements of the friction coefficient and wear volume, the tribological performances including wear resistance and friction coefficients were evaluated for the hydrogenated amorphous carbon films prepared by differing film thickness and nitrogen volume friction in the gas mixture of (C₂H₂+N₂). Taguchi experimental design and the grey relational analysis were used to investigate the influence of specimen parameters (film’s thickness, nitrogen content in the film), and operating conditions in tribological tests (scratch load and scratch velocity) on the friction coefficients and the wear volume arising in the specimens with different coating films. It is found that the wear volume of thin film is increased by increasing either the nitrogen volume fraction or film thickness. Moreover, the optimal combination of the testing parameters was also determined in the use of the present model.     

Investigation of antiwear coatings deposited by the pvd process

The tribological properties of various PVD‐deposited coatings (vacuum arc method) have been tested, both single‐layer coatings (TiN, CrN, Ti(C,N), and Cr(C,N)) and multilayer coatings (Cr(C,N)/CrN/Cr and CR(C,N)/(CrN+Cr₂N)/CrN/Cr). An unlubricated ball‐on‐disc tribosystem was used in which an Al₂O₃ ball is pressed against a coated steel disc rotating in the horizontal plane. A novelty of the method is the removal of wear debris from the contact zone using a draught of dry argon. This improves the repeatability of the test results and the stability of the tribological characteristics. It is shown that CrN coatings exhibit the best antiwear properties and Ti(C,N) the worst. Multilayer coatings have better antiwear properties than single‐layer ones. The friction coefficients for CrN and Cr(C,N) coatings are much smaller than for the commonly used TiN. A correlation has also been found between the physical properties of the coatings tested (adhesion of the coating to the substrate assessed in scratch tests, and coating hardness) and their antiwear properties. An improvement in coating‐substrate adhesion results in wear reduction, while greater hardness (causing a coating embrittlement increase and a change in the wear mechanism) brings about greater wear. There is no correlation between the physical properties and the friction coefficients of the coatings tested.