Preparation, Characterization, and High-Temperature Anti-Seizing Application of CrAlN-Based Gradient Multilayer Coatings

Abstract

High-temperature fasteners are metal parts of gas turbines and steam turbines, which work at high temperatures and under stress for a long time. However, the frequent seizures of fasteners bring great trouble to the normal maintenance of power plants. In this paper, three kinds of dense and controllable CrAlN-based gradient multilayer coatings were prepared on the samples and screws by arc ion plating (AIP) technology. The morphology, composition, structure, nano hardness, adhesion, residual stress, and room temperature tribological performance of the coating were investigated. To evaluate the high-temperature, anti-seizing performance, coated screws were heated to 700 °C for 140 h with a torque of 20 N·m. The results indicate that the CrN/CrAlN multilayer coating shows better comprehensive properties. The characterization of coated screws proved that the coating structures obtained on the screws were similar to the flat samples. However, the as-prepared coating on the screws showed different thickness variation rules, which was related to the clamping method, deposition distance, and screw shape. After a simulation service, the thread of the screw remained intact with similar structure and thinner thickness. The above results indicate that the high-temperature seize prevention of fasteners can be successfully achieved by preparing a CrAlN-based multilayer coating, which is suitable for fasteners with service temperatures below 700 °C.