A Study on the Tribological Behavior of Vanadium-Doped Arc Sprayed Coatings

The formation of thin reactive films in sliding contacts under elevated temperature provides enhanced tribological properties since the formation of Magnéli phases leads to the ability of self-lubricating behavior. This phenomenon was studied for vanadium-doped coating systems which were produced using CVD and PVD technology. Vanadium-containing arc sprayed coatings were not widely examined so far. The aim of this study was to characterize Fe-V coatings deposited by the Twin Wire Arc Spraying process with respect to their oxidation behavior at elevated temperatures and to correlate the formation of oxides to the tribological properties. Dry sliding experiments were performed in the temperature range between 25 and 750 °C. The Fe-V coating possesses a reduced coefficient of friction and wear coefficient (k) at 650 and 750 °C, which were significant lower when compared to conventional Fe-based coatings. The evolution of oxide phases was identified in situ by x-ray diffraction for the investigated temperature range. Further oxidation of (pre-oxidized) arc sprayed Fe-V coatings, as verified by differential thermal analysis and thermo-gravimetric analysis, starts at about 500 °C.