Tribological characteristics of titanium nitride and titanium carbonitridemultilayer films Part II. The effect of coating sequence on tribological properties

The effect on the tribological behavior of the lower specimen (disc) with d ifferent total film thickness and different coating sequences of two cerami c films was examined. The tribological behavior in response to the above tw o factors are expressed in terms of the wear rate of the upper and lower sp ecimen, friction coefficient, wear mechanism, wear debris size and wear dis placement. The lower specimen wear rates can be regressed by two straight l ines or two curves as a function of the friction power parameter. Friction coefficients can be expressed as two linear functions in terms of the param eter T/LV where T is the specimen's ultimate temperature, L is the applied load and V denotes the sliding velocity. The characteristics exhibited in t he wear rate of the lower specimen and friction coefficient in each subregi on of the friction power parameter (JZV) and the parameter T/LV, respective ly can be interpreted by the alterations in wear mechanism. The wear rate o f the lower specimen where the Ti(C,N) film is the top layer is equal to or lower than that with the TiN film as the top layer if they are both evalua ted at the same thickness and under the same operating conditions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.