Tribology and Micromechanics of Chromium Nitride Based Multilayer Coatings on Soft and Hard Substrates
Source abstract
Abstract
The tribological protection of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites (CFC) is essential for broadening their use from structural to functional applications, e.g., to linear bearings in mechanical engineering. However, their wear resistance in sliding and rolling contacts is low. This work focusses on the possibility of improving their tribological properties by the application of thin hard multi-layered coatings. Chromium nitride (CrN) single layer and chromium-CrN multilayer coatings of ~4 µm thickness, partly finished with a 1 µm diamond-like carbon (DLC) top layer, were deposited by magnetron sputtering at low temperatures on soft CFC and for comparison of the mechanical behavior on comparatively hard austenitic steel substrates. Structural investigations showed especially that the multilayer coatings possess a very fine grained, columnar microstructure and a very low density of intercolumnar micro-cracks, while the single layer coatings possess a coarse structure. The indentation testing and the analysis of the deformed and fractured cross-sections revealed a tougher behavior with improved plastic deformability of the multilayers in comparison to CrN single layers. However, in wear testing only coatings with DLC top layers significantly improved the tribological material properties of CFC. This is due to the reduced shear forces in sliding on low-friction DLC coatings on the soft epoxy-based CFC, decreasing the total dynamic stresses during sliding under high loads.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Metal and Thin Film Mechanics · Tribology and Wear Analysis · Diamond and Carbon-based Materials Research
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Institute of Surface Technologies and Photonics, Functional Surfaces, Leobner Strasse 94, A-8712 Niklasdorf, Austria
Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Sciences, Ul. Reymonta 25, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics, Laboratory of Tribology and Surface Engineering, A. Mickiewicza Ave. 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
References (35)
Show source-provided references
1. Adhesive/cohesive properties of thermally sprayed functionally graded coatings for polymer matrix composites10.1361/10599630522765 ↗
2. Palumbo, G., Brooks, I., Panagiotopoulos, K., McCrea, J., Limoges, D., and Erb, U. (2008). Strong lightweight article containing a fine-grained metallic layer. (7,387,578 B2), U.S. Patent.
3. Protective multilayer coatings for carbon–carbon composites10.1016/S0257-8972(01)01655-3 ↗
4. Crack deflection at an interface between dissimilar elastic materials: role of residual stresses10.1016/0020-7683(94)90025-6 ↗
5. Biron, M. (2004). Thermosets and Composites, Elsevier.10.1016/B978-185617411-4/50008-5 ↗
6. Toughening of hard nanostructural thin films: A critical review10.1016/j.surfcoat.2004.10.020 ↗
7. Fracture mechanisms in nanoscale layered hard thin films10.1016/S0040-6090(02)00944-6 ↗
8. The fracture of brittle thin films on compliant substrates in flexible displays10.1016/S0013-7944(01)00104-7 ↗
9. Kääriäinen, T., Rahamathunnisa, M., Tanttari, M., and Cameron, D.C. (2006, January 22–27). Properties of Magnetron Sputtered Hard Coatings on Carbon and Glass Fibre Composites. Proceedings of 49th Annual Technical Conference, Washington, DC, USA.
10. Lackner, J.M., Waldhauser, W., Ganser, C., Teichert, C., Kot, M., and Major, L. (2013). Mechanisms of topography formation of magnetron-sputtered chromium-based coatings on epoxy polymer composites. Surf. Coat. Technol., in press.10.14332/svc13.proc.0980 ↗
11. Multilayer composite ceramicmetal-DLC coatings for sliding wear applications10.1016/0301-679X(95)00121-J ↗
12. Concepts for the design of advanced nanoscale PVD multilayer protective thin films10.1016/j.jallcom.2008.08.133 ↗
13. Cracking and stress redistribution in ceramic layered composites10.1016/0921-5093(93)90337-E ↗
14. Thick Ti/TiN multilayered coatings for abrasive and erosive wear resistance10.1016/0257-8972(94)90069-8 ↗
15. Coatings tribology—Contact mechanisms and surface design10.1016/S0301-679X(98)00013-9 ↗
16. Nanoindentation stress–strain curves as a method for thin-film complete mechanical characterization: application to nanometric CrN/Cr multilayer coatings10.1007/s00339-002-1669-0 ↗
17. Investigation of adhesion between component layers of a multi-layer coating TiC/Ti (CxN1−x)/TiN by the scratch-test method10.1016/S0042-207X(99)00122-0 ↗
18. Polymer pre-treatment by linear anode layer source plasma for adhesion improvement of sputtered TiN coatings10.1016/j.vacuum.2008.06.006 ↗
19. Load-bearing capacity of coating-substrate systems obtained from spherical indentation tests10.1016/j.matdes.2012.06.040 ↗
20. Microscale interpretation of tribological phenomena in Ti/TiN soft-hard multilayer coatings on soft austenite steel substrates
21. (2002). DIN EN ISO 14577-1:2002 Metallic Materials—Instrumented Indentation Test for Hardness and Materials Parameters. Part 1: Test Method, International Organization for Standardization.
22. Improved technique for determining hardness and elastic modulus using load and displacement sensing indentation experiments10.1557/JMR.1992.1564 ↗
23. Influence of apparatus geometry and deposition conditions on the structure and topography of thick sputtered coatings10.1116/1.1312732 ↗
24. Nucleation and growth behavior of chromium nitride film deposited on various substrates by magnetron sputtering10.1016/S0257-8972(03)00236-6 ↗
25. JCPDS-International Centre for Diffraction Data. Cards No. 00-027-1402 (Si), 00-035-0803 (-Cr2N), 03-06899 (CrN), 00-027-1402 (Cr).
26. Hall, E.O. (1951). The deformation and ageing of mild steel: III discussion of results. Proc. Phys. Soc. B, 64.10.1088/0370-1301/64/9/303 ↗
27. Period dependence of hardness and microstructure on nanometric Cr/CrN multilayers10.1016/j.surfcoat.2004.08.058 ↗
28. The Young’s modulus of chromium nitride films10.1016/j.surfcoat.2003.10.064 ↗
29. Growth and configurational stability of circular, buckling-driven film delaminations10.1016/0956-7151(92)90304-W ↗
30. Blau, P.J., and Lawn, B.R. (1986). Microindentation Techniques in Material Science and Engineering, American Society of Testing of Materials.10.1520/STP889-EB ↗
31. Holmberg, K., and Matthews, A. (1996). Coatings Tribology, Properties, Techniques and Applications in Surface Engineering, Elsevier.
32. Elastic-plastic finite element analysis of indented layered media10.1115/1.3261943 ↗
33. Sliding contact stress field due to a spherical indenter on a layered elastic half-space
34. The genesis of friction10.1016/0043-1648(81)90315-X ↗
35. Stachowiak, G. (2005). Wear: Materials, Mechanisms and Practice, Wiley.10.1002/9780470017029 ↗