Wear Resistance of TiAlCrSiN Coatings Deposited by Means of the Co-Sputtering Technique

Abstract

TiAlCrSiN thin films were deposited on K20 WC–Co substrates using the co-sputtering method. The silicon content in the deposited coatings were varied by modifying the number of silicon pieces (1, 2, or 3) on the Cr target. The morphology, semi-quantitative chemical composition, and microstructure were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. Modified ASTM B611 abrasive wear and nano-hardness tests were used to evaluate the tribological and mechanical properties of the different coatings, respectively. The results showed that the addition of Si promotes an increased hardness and elastic modulus. Also, mass loss in wear tests decreased as Si increased, due to the growth in hardness related to the microstructural refinement produced by the blocking of sliding bands by the grain boundaries.

Keywords

• TiCrAlSiN coating
• co-sputtering
• wear behaviour
• hardness
• crystallite size