High-Temperature Sliding Wear Testing of Cathodic Arc Physical Vapor Deposition AlTiN- and AlTiON-Coated Hot Work Tool Steels

Thin hard coatings provide the much needed protection for steel thixoforming tools that must resist wear at high temperatures. The wear resistance of AlTiN- and AlTiON-coated hot work tool steel was investigated at 1023 K (750 °C), measured to be the cavity surface temperature shortly after the steel slurry was forced into the thixoforming die. The wear tests were repeated in exactly the same fashion with uncoated tool steel samples to identify the impact of AlTiN and AlTiON coatings on the high-temperature wear performance of X32CrMoV33 tool steel. The nature, the thickness, and the adherence of the oxide scales impact the tribological behavior. The poor adherence and limited ductility of ferrous oxides promote the failure of the oxide scale impairing the resistance to wear of the hot work tool steel at elevated temperatures. The substantial softening in the X32CrMoV33 hot work tool steel is also critical in the wear volume loss it suffers. AlTiN and AlTiON coatings, on the other hand, form a stable and protective oxide surface layer at high temperatures and therefore provide an enhanced resistance to oxidation. The latter is relatively more resistant to oxidation and is thus the better of the two coatings tested in the present work.