Comparative study on the structural make-up and mechanical behavior of silicon and silver doped amorphous carbon films

Silicon - Silicon (Si) and silver (Ag) doped amorphous carbon (a-C) thin film were deposited on chrome nitrided 316 LVM stainless steel using filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) deposition...     

Mechanical and tribological assessment of composite AlCrN or a-C:Ag-based thin films for implant application

The present study focuses on the comparison of cathodic arc deposited AlCrN (ternary coating) and Ag alloyed a-C (amorphous carbon base coating) on chrome nitride (CrN) medical grade 316 LVM stainless steel. The work comprises of morphological, structural, nanomechanical and tribological evaluation in physiological simulated body fluid (SBF) lubrication following conditions pertaining to simulated hip joint. According to the findings, H/E, H³/E² and E_coating/E_substrate significantly effect the nanomechanical and tribological properties of the coatings. While a-C:Ag/CrN exhibited better L_y value compared to AlCrN/CrN due to better surface quality, the later has shown higher L_c2 value during nanoscratch test attributed to lower H³/E² and higher plastic work done. Inspite of lower friction coefficient, a-C:Ag/CrN observed higher wear rate during simulated tribotest attributed to low hardness, separate graphitic structure due to Ag doping and sudden increase of friction coefficient ascribed to severe abrasive delamination of a-C:Ag top layer. The wear mechanism observed under SEM microscopy indicate severe adhesion of Ti6Al4V counterbody on AlCrN/CrN coated surface. The size of wear debris obtained with AlCrN/CrN-Ti6Al4V tribopair was larger in size compared to a-C:Ag/CrN-Ti6Al4V tribopair. Nevertheless, despite inferior surface quality and lower L_y value and larger wear debris size, AlCrN/CrN coating performed better in nanoscratch (at L_c2 value) and demonstrated lower wear in simulated tribotest in physiological SBF condition.     

Wear assessment of Cr2O3-/TiAlN-coated DAC-10 tool steel against steel and Al2O3 counterbodies

TiAlN film was deposited on Cr₂O₃-coated plasma-nitrided DAC-10 tool steel to obtained multilayer Cr₂O₃/TiAlN coating layer using cathodic arc deposition technique. The structural make-up of the coating was characterized using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction methods, and the mechanical properties were evaluated using nanoindentation and nanoscratch test. The structural phases of the coating indicated the presence of crystalline CrO structure and cubic TiAlN phases. The coating showcased improved hardness (38 GPa), elastic modulus (387 GPa), and adhesion along with appreciable H/E (0.09) and H³/E² (0.366 GPa) attributes. Further, friction-induced wear behavior of the coating was investigated against steel and Al₂O₃ counterbodies under dry sliding conditions. The wear behavior of the coating was greatly influenced by its hardness and deformation properties and frictional behavior of the counterbodies. More spikes and fluctuation were observed in the frictional curve against Al₂O₃ counterbody attributed to the emanation of TiO₂, Cr₂O₃, and Al₂O₃ compounds due to dry sliding leading to the formation of flakes and delamination induced debris. Against the steel counterbody, the coating mainly formed a typical smooth glossy surface ascribed to the formation of Fe₂O₃ compound on the worn surface.