Corrosion and wear behaviors of PVD CrN and CrSiN coatings in seawater

To improve the tribological performance of 316L in seawater, the CrN and CrSiN coatings were deposited by multi-arc ion plating. The coatings were systematically characterized. Corrosion properties were evaluated by immersion test and anodic polarization measurement. The friction and wear properties of the CrN and CrSiN coatings were investigated by ball-on-disk tribometer in artificial seawater. The results show that the CrN coating has strong (111) and (200) preferred orientations and the intensity of the peaks decreases for the CrSiN coating. The hardness of the CrSiN coating is higher than that of the CrN coating. The CrSiN coating presents better corrosion resistance in seawater. The friction coefficient and wear rate of the CrSiN coating are lower than those of the CrN coating, indicating positive effect of Si addition on tribological performance in seawater. The coatings could significantly improve the wear resistance of the 316L in seawater.