Purpose The low surface hardness and wear resistance of TA15 alloy limit their applications. The purpose of this study is to enhance the surface mechanical properties of TA15 alloy via carbide coating protection, while guaranteeing the adhesion between the substrate and coatings. Design/methodology/approach First-principles calculations were used to predict the temperature-dependent elastic and thermodynamic properties of the ZrC system. The ZrC coatings were fabricated using double glow plasma alloying (DGPA) technology. Findings Theoretical calculations indicate that ZrC system exhibits promising elastic and thermodynamic properties. The experimental hardness of ZrC coatings prepared using DGPA technology closely matches their theoretical hardness, reaching 25.2 ± 1.1 GPa, while the coating adhesion exceeds 50 N. The tribological test results indicate that the wear rate of the ZrC coatings is (3.9 ± 0.2) × 10−6 mm3/(N·m), representing an improvement of 99.3 % compared to the substrate. Originality/value The combination of theoretical prediction and experiments is an effective strategy in materials research. The ZrC coatings prepared using DGPA technology effectively enhance the mechanical properties of TA15 alloy. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-09-2025-0429/

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