Wear assessment of Cr <sub>2</sub> O <sub>3</sub> ‐/TiAlN‐coated DAC‐10 tool steel against steel and Al <sub>2</sub> O <sub>3</sub> counterbodies
Sunil Kumar, Saikat Ranjan Maity, Lokeswar Patnaik
Abstract
Abstract TiAlN film was deposited on Cr 2 O 3 ‐coated plasma‐nitrided DAC‐10 tool steel to obtained multilayer Cr 2 O 3 /TiAlN coating layer using cathodic arc deposition technique. The structural make‐up of the coating was characterized using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and X‐ray diffraction methods, and the mechanical properties were evaluated using nanoindentation and nanoscratch test. The structural phases of the coating indicated the presence of crystalline CrO structure and cubic TiAlN phases. The coating showcased improved hardness (38 GPa), elastic modulus (387 GPa), and adhesion along with appreciable H/E (0.09) and H 3 /E 2 (0.366 GPa) attributes. Further, friction‐induced wear behavior of the coating was investigated against steel and Al 2 O 3 counterbodies under dry sliding conditions. The wear behavior of the coating was greatly influenced by its hardness and deformation properties and frictional behavior of the counterbodies. More spikes and fluctuation were observed in the frictional curve against Al 2 O 3 counterbody attributed to the emanation of TiO 2 , Cr 2 O 3 , and Al 2 O 3 compounds due to dry sliding leading to the formation of flakes and delamination induced debris. Against the steel counterbody, the coating mainly formed a typical smooth glossy surface ascribed to the formation of Fe 2 O 3 compound on the worn surface.