A Comparison Study on the Microstructure, Mechanical Features, and Tribological Characteristics of TiN Coatings on Ti6Al4V Using Different Deposition Techniques

Abstract

Titanium alloys are considered lightweight alloys and are widely applied across various industries. However, their low hardness, poor wear resistance, and limited oxidation resistance restrict their prospects for wider application. In this paper, nitride coatings were prepared using three preparation processes, namely laser surface nitriding (LSN), physical vapor deposition (PVD), and plasma ion implantation (PII). Their microstructure, microhardness, tribological behavior, and high-temperature oxidation characteristics were compared. The experimental results revealed that nitrided coatings were successfully prepared using the three methods. However, a comparison of these data shows that the LSN coating exhibited superior comprehensive performance. It achieved the maximum thickness within the shortest preparation time: the thickness was about 280 μm and the deposition rate of the LSN method was 2250 and 90,000 times higher than those of the PVD and PII methods. Nitrides have high hardness, but the carrying capacity could be attributed to the thickness of the coatings: the PVD coating could withstand a force of 500 g, while the PII coating only withstood a force of less than 25 g. In addition, as hardness is the most important factor for excellent wear resistance, the average volumetric wear rate of the LSN and PVD coatings was about 9 × 10−6 mm3/m·N, and their relative wear resistance was 49.2 times that of Ti6Al4V. Meanwhile, the excellent bond between the LSN coating and the substrate was evidenced by a high-temperature oxidation test during a rapid heating–cooling cycle.

Investigation of the Corrosion and Tribological Properties of WC-Co Tools Hardened with PVD Coatings in Solid Oak Wood Processing

“…The TiCN coating structure is described in sources [30,31]. Hard PVD coatings are widely used in various industrial sectors, including to reduce tool wear [23][24][25][26][27][28][29], but the effect of tannic acids on these coatings has not yet been investigated.…”

“…The TiCN coating structure is described in sources [30,31]. Coatings based on Ti and Cr are chosen for their tribological properties and wide industrial usage [27,29,32,33].…”

“…The milling machine used was a CNC machining center ProMaster 7123 (Holz-Her GmbH, Nürtingen, Germany). Coatings based on Ti and Cr are chosen for their tribological properties and wide industrial usage [27,29,32,33].…”

The Influence of Variations in Synthesis Conditions on the Phase Composition, Strength and Shielding Characteristics of CuBi2O4 Films

“…In this case, high resistance to wear due to friction makes it possible to eliminate the factors of destruction of coatings during prolonged mechanical action, as well as to avoid the effects associated with a decrease in shielding efficiency in the case of partial or complete separation of coatings from the surface. Comparing the hardness values of the synthesized coatings with similar nitride (TiN) coatings obtained by magnetron sputtering [35,36] or by vapor deposition [37], they are approximately 1.5-2.0 times lower than the hardness of TiN coatings [36], and 7-10 times lower than coatings obtained by vapor deposition [37]. In comparison with carbide coatings [38,39], the hardness values of CuBi/CuBi 2 O 4 , Cu(Co)Bi 2 O 4 and Cu(Ni)Bi 2 O 4 films are also approximately 5-6 times lower.…”