Analysis of the surface energy interactions in the tribological behavior of ALCrN and TIAlN coatings

Abstract

The performance of metal cutting tools is drastically affected by the presence of hard coatings, which promote higher productivity and superior quality to the machined components. Nevertheless, the conventional properties are not capable to fully predict the behavior of the tool during the operation. The surface energy of solids is a characteristic which affects the contact interactions in sliding, i.e., adsorption, wetting and adhesion. However, one of the reasons why surface energy is often neglected in tribological studies is the lack of understanding concerned with the correlation between them, mainly for friction without lubricant. This work investigates the applicability of the surface energy as a property which can be associated with the performance of AlCrN and TiAlN coated materials.