Tribological and mechanical properties of Ti/TiAlN/TiAlCN nanoscale multilayer PVD coatings deposited on AISI H11 hot work tool steel

A new [Ti/TiAlN/TiAlCN]5 multilayer coatings were deposited onto polished substrate AISI H11 (DIN 1.2343) steel by an industrial magnetron sputtering device. The tribological performance of the coated system was investigated by a ball-on-disk tribometer against 100Cr6 steel and Al2O3 balls. The friction coefficients and specific wear rates were measured at various normal loads (2, 5, 8, and 10 N) and sliding velocities (0.2, 0.4, and 0.8 m/s) in ambient air and dry conditions. The phase structure, composition, wear tracks morphologies, hardness, and film/substrate adhesion of the coatings were characterized by light-microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), 3D-surface analyzer, nanoindentation, and scratch tests. Results showed that the deposited coatings showed low wear rates in the scale of 10−15 m3/N m, low friction coefficients against 100Cr6 and Al2O3 balls in the range of 0.25-0.37, and good hardness in the range of 17-20 GPa. Results also revealed that the friction coefficients and disc wear rates decrease and increase, respectively with the increase in normal load and sliding velocity for both coating/Al2O3 and coating/100Cr6 sliding system. Compared with the uncoated-H11 substrate, the deposited coating exhibited superior tribological and mechanical properties. The dominant wear mechanism was abrasive wear for coating/Al2O3 pair, while for coating/100Cr6 pair, a combination of mild adhesive wear, severe adhesive wear, and abrasive wear (extensive plowing) were the dominant wear mechanisms at different applied normal loads.