Experimental study on micro-abrasion behavior of hard coatings: the role of load, sliding distance and abrasive particle size

Abstract

In this study, the micro abrasion wear behavior of the TiN, TiAlN, TiAlN/TiSiN and AlCrN coated WC materials was investigated. The coating process was carried out using the Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) method. All coatings have a dense and homogeneous microstructure without delamination or crack formation. Wear tests were performed by fixed ball micro abrasion wear device. Micro abrasion wear test were carried out at different loads, abrasive sizes and sliding distances. As a result of the experiments, the best wear performance was obtained with AlCrN coated WC materials at all loads and abrasive grit sizes, followed by TiAlN/TiSiN coated and TiAlN coated samples. Depending on the increase in load, volume losses were increased in all samples under all conditions. Higher wear losses were determined in the tests performed with larger SiC abrasive particles. In the tests performed with SiC F800, the wear mechanism was micro-grooving wear mechanism, while in SiC F1200 tests the wear mechanism was micro-rolling mechanism. The increased number of cycles increased the volume loss of the samples. In the tests conducted with the SiC F800, the micro-grooves were more pronounced in short-range tests, whereas the groove steps in the long-range tests were reduced.