Atomic erosion behavior and influence mechanism during erosion impact of TiC coatings with different crystal faces in oil production environment: A molecular dynamics simulation

Abstract

The TiC coating is considered to be one of the most promising coatings for resisting erosion and wear in oil extraction system components due to its good comprehensive performance. In this paper, molecular dynamics simulations were used to compare and analyze the erosion and wear resistance of TiC (001), (110), and (111) single crystal coatings at the microscopic level during indentation, scratching, and impact processes. The results show that the TiC (111) single crystal coating exhibits higher load-bearing capacity, hardness, and wear resistance due to its unique triangular lattice structure. In addition, when the TiC coating exhibits typical brittle material erosion properties, the arrangement of (111) crystal planes can significantly reduce erosion damage.