The adhesion of multifunctional coatings on soft substrates is of paramount importance in the tribological behavior of this important class of surface treatment. In particular, scratch and indentation tests have been extensively used in order to assess this property. In this paper, the adhesion of a-C:H diamond-like carbon films deposited on nitrided low carbon steel was evaluated by indentation and scratch tests. The coatings were produced by PECVD onto 1020 steel substrates with two different surface finishing: ground (Sq = 0.184 µm) and polished (Sq = 0.002 µm). Indentation tests using a Rockwell diamond indenter were conducted and the adhesion evaluated by measuring the spalling region on images obtained by using optical microscopy. The analysis of the spalling regions produced semi-quantitative results, eliminating the subjective qualitative analysis proposed by the standard method VDI 3198. In addition, scratch tests were performed using the same indenter and a comparison between the two techniques was established.

ResumoA adesão de revestimentos multifuncionais em substratos moles é de extrema importância para o comportamento tribológico desta importante classe de tratamentos superficiais. Mais especificamente, testes de indentação e de riscamento são bastante utilizados na medição desta propriedade. No presente estudo, a adesão de filmes de DLC do tipo a-C:H depositados em aço baixo carbono nitretado foi investigada através de testes de indentação e riscamento. Os revestimentos foram produzidos através de PECVD em substratos de aço 1020 com dois acabamentos superficiais: lixado (Sq = 0,184 µm) e polido (Sq = 0,002 µm). Foram realizados testes de indentação Rockwell C e a adesão foi quantificada através da medição da área desplacada em imagens obtidas através de microscopia ótica. Esta análise produziu resultados semi-quantitativos, eliminando a análise qualitativa subjetiva sugerida pela norma VDI3198. Ainda, testes de riscamento foram realizados nas mesmas amostras com o mesmo indentador para que uma comparação entre ambas as técnicas pudesse ser estabelecida. Por fim, o método apresentado mostrou resultados coerentes, onde amostras com menor carga crítica apresentaram uma maior área desplacada. Amostras lixadas apresentaram um desempenho inferior em relação a adesividade. Palavras-chave: Diamond-like carbon; Adesão; Topografia; Aço nitretado. ASSESSMENT OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL COATING ADHESION: COMPARISON BETWEEN INDENTATION AND SCRATCH TESTS AbstractThe adhesion of multifunctional coatings on soft substrates is of paramount importance in the tribological behavior of this important class of surface treatment. In particular, scratch and indentation tests have been extensively used in order to assess this property. In this paper, the adhesion of a-C:H diamond-like carbon films deposited on nitrided low carbon steel was evaluated by indentation and scratch tests. The coatings were produced by PECVD onto 1020 steel substrates with two different surface finishing: ground (Sq = 0.184 µm) and polished (Sq = 0.002 µm). Indentation tests using a Rockwell diamond indenter were conducted and the adhesion evaluated by measuring the spalling region on images obtained by using optical microscopy. The analysis of the spalling regions produced semi-quantitative results, eliminating the subjective qualitative analysis proposed by the standard method VDI 3198. In addition, scratch tests were performed using the same indenter and a comparison between the two techniques was established. Finally, the method presented coherent results, where films with higher critical loads presented lower spalled areas. Ground samples presented an overall poorer adhesion performance.