Effect of AISI H13 Steel Substrate Nitriding on AlCrN, ZrN, TiSiN, and TiCrN Multilayer PVD Coatings Wear and Friction Behaviors at a Different Temperature Level

Abstract

Moving components of industrial machines and tools are subjected to wear and friction. This reduces their useful life and efficiency in running conditions, particularly at high temperatures. One of the most popular solutions is to apply an appropriate surface coating to the tribocouple’s base materials. In this study, tribometer experiments were used to evaluate the tribological performance of cathodic arc physical vapor deposited (CAPVD) AlCrN, TiSiN, CrTiN, and ZrN coatings on the gas nitrided AISI H13 tool steel to explore the effects of nitriding the steel on wear and friction behavior of these coatings at ambient and elevated temperatures. The coatings characterization is split into three main parts: mechanical, morphological, and chemical characterization. Nanoindentation has been used for mechanical characterization, thin film X-ray diffraction (XRD), and an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer mounted on a scanning electron microscope for chemical characterization, optical profilometer, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) for morphological characterization. Significant improvements in the adhesion qualities of the coatings to the substrate were achieved as a result of nitration. Due to this circumstance, the coatings’ load-bearing capacity and high-temperature wear resistance ratings were enhanced. The wear results showed that the AISI H13 tool steel nitriding with AlCrN and ZrN layers decreased wear rates by two to three times at 700 °C.

Metallic and Ceramic Materials Integrity—Surface Engineering for Wear, Corrosion and Erosion Prevention

“…Grenadyorov et al [21] studied the properties of TiAlN coatings obtained by dual-HiPIMS with short pulses. Özkan et al [22] investigated the effect of AISI H13 steel substrate nitriding on the wear and friction behaviors of AlCrN, ZrN, TiSiN and TiCrN multilayer PVD coatings at different temperatures.…”

Low Temperature Nitriding of Metal Alloys for Surface Mechanical Performance

“…For instance, previously to nitriding, some authors have deposited coatings that form harder and corrosion-resistant phases upon the treatment [ 71 ]. Hard coatings can also be added to the nitrided pieces [ 72 , 73 ], although care has to be taken with the roughness induced by the nitriding process. Plasma nitriding with the titanium addition could allow a thinner brittle compound layer and a thicker ductile effective hardening layer to be produced on the surface of steel [ 74 ].…”

The Use of PVD Coatings for Anti-Wear Protection of the Press-In Connection Elements

“…Zirconium nitride is used as a hard and decorative coating because of its integrated properties, such as high hardness, good optical properties as well as electric and thermal conductivity. Zirconium nitride is also used for coating medical tools, drills, automotive and aircraft parts, and other elements at risk of corrosion [29][30][31][32].…”