Tribological and corrosion Behavior of Duplex Coated AISI 316L using plasma based ion implantation and deposItion

Abstract

The implementation of a duplex process, which combines plasma nitriding with hard coatings obtained by cathodic arc, on stainless steel substrates has faced adhesion problems that affected the wear and corrosion behavior of the treated surfaces. One variation of the cathodic arc process, which could improve the adhesion, is its combination with plasma ion implantation.This work presents results of the wear and corrosion behavior of duplex TiTiN bilayer coatings obtained by cathodic arc deposition combined with ion implantation (PBII&D) on plasma nitrided AISI 316 L stainless steel. In order to compare the application of PBII&D in duplex processes against conventional cathodic arc deposition, other two types of samples were obtained; one group of samples was coated using the same experimental device with the substrate at floating potential and the other one with a commercial PVD system.The coatings were characterized by SEM, XRD, and nanoindentation. The adhesion was evaluated by the Scratch Test and Rockwell C indentation. The wear resistance was analyzed by the pin-on-disk test and the corrosion behavior was evaluated by means of anodic polarization tests in NaCl solution, as well as by the Salt Spray Fog Test.The PBII&D bilayer coatings showed better adhesion while the commercial PVD TiN coatings presented the smallest wear volume loss, but the delamination inside and around the track evidenced adhesion problems. Corrosion resistance was improved in all coatings benchmarked against nitride substrates, but PBII&D processes offered better protection.