WEAR OF PVD TI TIN MULTILAYER COATINGS

The wear characteristics of PVD Ti/TiN multilayer coatings subjected t o two-body abrasion and particle erosion have been studied using diamo nd slurry and silicon carbide particles as abrasive medium and erodant , respectively. The abrasive wear rate of the Ti/TiN multilayer coatin gs was found to increase with the relative amount of metallic Ti in th e coatings. In erosion, the lowest wear rate was recorded for the homo geneous TiN coating. For the Ti/TiN multilayer coatings the erosion ra te was found to decrease with an increasing relative amount of metalli c Ti in the coatings. It is concluded that the concept of multilayered coatings offers a potent means to tailor the properties of tribologic al coatings. In particular, demands of different applications can be m et by adjusting the relative thickness of metallic Ti in Ti/TiN coatin gs. The amount of metallic Ti can, for example, be used to control the coating residual stress state. Multilayered Ti/TiN coatings seem prom ising for combined wear and corrosion protection. (C) 1997 Elsevier Sc ience S.A.