Tribological and corrosion behavior of vacuum plasma sprayed Ti-Zr-Ni quasicrystalline coatings

This investigation deals with a study of the friction, wear, and corrosion behavior of vacuum plasma sprayed quasicrystalline (QC) Ti(41.5)Zr(41.5)Ni(17) coatings. During pin on disc experiments, a change in the mode of wear has been found to occur with corresponding changes in normal load and sliding velocity. The low thermal conductivity of quasicrystals and its brittleness play a vital role in determining the friction and wear behavior of such materials. When these coatings are subjected to rubbing for a longer period of time, wear occurs by subsurface crack propagation, and subsequent delamination within the coated layer. By comparing the QC to its polycrystalline counterpart during potentiodynamic measurements according to ASTM G 31, higher currents were found over the whole range of potentials for QC when immersed in 1 M HCl solution.