Investigation of the tribological behavior of chromium aluminum silicon nitride coatings via both scratch sliding test and FEM simulation

Abstract

The finite element method (FEM) and scratch sliding test were combined to investigate the tribological behaviors of Chromium Aluminum Silicon Nitride (CrAlSiN) coatings with various Si contents. The tribological behavior was evaluated through sliding tests using a conventional ball-on-disc wear apparatus. It was found that the coefficient of friction (COF) of CrAlSiN was lower than CrAlN coating and it reached a minimum value of 0.56 for CrAlSi3.7N. Energy-dispersive Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was employed to reveal the compositions of wear debris formed during the scratch sliding experiments. As a reasonable approximation, a static condition was applied, and the scratch behavior was modeled by a sphere indenter scratching on a thin coating coated on a thick substrate. A three-dimensional finite element model was constructed with the help of the ABAQUS to describe the mechanical response during scratch.