Friction and wear behavior of the PVD (Zr,Ti)N coated cemented carbide against 40Cr hardened steel

(Zr,Ti)N hard coatings were deposited on WC/TiC/Co cemented carbide by multi arc ion plating. Friction and wear behavior of the (Zr,Ti)N coatings against 40Cr hardened steel were evaluated using a ball-on-disk tribometer. The friction coefficients and wear rates were measured with varying applied loads and sliding speeds. The results showed that the friction coefficient increased with the increase of the applied load, and decreased with the increase of sliding speed. The wear rate decreased with both increasing applied load and sliding speed. The wear mechanism of the coatings at low friction loads was mild abrasive wear and flake while brittle fracture and flake at high applied loads. The wear mode of the (Zr,Ti)N coatings changed from adhesive wear and brittle fracture to mild abrasive wear as the sliding speed increased. The EGC coating which presents a graded distribution of coefficient of thermal expansion shows best wear resistant properties, in particular at high load and sliding speed conditions. Cracks, flakes and delamination fracture of the coatings were observed. The major failure mechanisms of the coatings are flaking and delamination. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.