TiC‐Based Cermet Coatings: Advanced Wear Performance by Nanocrystalline Microstructure

This paper highlights the influence of a refined microstructure on the wear behaviour of cermets by comparing TiC‐Ni based, VPS‐sprayed microcrystalline and nanocrystalline cermet coatings. The coatings are subjected to two‐body and three‐body abrasive wear at different loads. Fracture behaviour as well as mass loss and surface quality after the wear tests are evaluated. Although at low wear loads, the refined microstructure leads to a higher mass loss, at high loads the wear resistance of the nanocrystalline coating is superior. This behaviour is strongly related to a significantly higher toughness of the nanocrystalline coating. Independent of the wear load, the nanocrystalline microstructure leads to less surface roughness after wear.