Moving components of industrial machines and tools are subjected to wear and friction. This reduces their useful life and efficiency in running conditions, particularly at high temperatures. One of the most popular solutions is to apply an appropriate surface coating to the tribocouple’s base materials. In this study, tribometer experiments were used to evaluate the tribological performance of cathodic arc physical vapor deposited (CAPVD) AlCrN, TiSiN, CrTiN, and ZrN coatings on the gas nitrided AISI H13 tool steel to explore the effects of nitriding the steel on wear and friction behavior of these coatings at ambient and elevated temperatures. The coatings characterization is split into three main parts: mechanical, morphological, and chemical characterization. Nanoindentation has been used for mechanical characterization, thin film X-ray diffraction (XRD), and an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer mounted on a scanning electron microscope for chemical characterization, optical profilometer, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) for morphological characterization. Significant improvements in the adhesion qualities of the coatings to the substrate were achieved as a result of nitration. Due to this circumstance, the coatings’ load-bearing capacity and high-temperature wear resistance ratings were enhanced. The wear results showed that the AISI H13 tool steel nitriding with AlCrN and ZrN layers decreased wear rates by two to three times at 700 °C.
Copper beryllium (CuBe) with good mechanical and high electrical conductivity properties is used in metalworking, electronic devices, automotive systems, and aerospace systems. Having low hardness limits its usage in tribosystems such as internal combustion engine valve train systems. In this study, heat-treated CuBe material was coated with CrN under a micron thickness by cathodic arc physical vapor deposition (arc-PVD) to improve wear resistance not only at unlubricated condition but also at the lubricated condition for tribosystem, especially a material candidate for cam tappets. Therefore, CrN-coated CuBe, CuBe, and AISI52100 steel samples were tested by a tribometer at unlubricated and lubricated sliding conditions. Surface morphological changes and tribochemical formation were investigated by optical microscope, optical profilometer, atomic force microscope, and scanning electron microscope. The results showed that CrN increased the wear resistance of the CuBe significantly, and it can be used as cam tappet material both on unlubricated and boundary lubrication regimes.
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