Fatigue strength of diamond coating-substrate interface assessed by inclined impact tests at ambient and elevated temperatures

• NCD films' interface fatigue was assessed by inclined impact test at 25 °C and 300 °C.
• During this test, an interfacial damage leads to film detachment and bulge formation.
• The fatigue strength of NCD coatings interface worsens as the temperature grows.
• This deterioration is more intense in the case of Co-etched hardmetal substrates.
• Co-etching leads to higher interface fatigue strength compared to Cr-interlayers.

The effect of two different treatments of cemented carbide substrates, prior to the deposition of a nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) coating, on the film interface fatigue strength was investigated at ambient and elevated temperatures. The first substrate treatment of the cemented carbide substrate was a selective chemical Co-etching and the second one the deposition of a Cr-adhesive layer. Inclined impact tests at 25 °C and 300 °C were performed on the NCD coated specimens. The related imprints were evaluated by confocal microscopy measurements and EDX micro-analyses. The thermal residual stresses developed in the film structure at various temperatures were estimated by Finite Element Method (FEM) calculations. A fatigue damage in the NCD coating interface region was induced by the repetitive impacts. After this damage, the compressive residual stresses in the NCD film are released leading to its lifting from the substrate (bulge formation) and subsequent coating failure. The NCD film-substrate interface fatigue behavior is significantly affected by the test temperature. Based on the attained results at diverse substrate treatments, Woehler-like diagrams were developed for monitoring the fatigue failure of NCD coating interface area at 25 °C and 300 °C. The interfacial fatigue strength worsens as the impact test temperature grows in both examined substrate treatment cases. Moreover, Co-etched substrates compared to coated ones by an adhesive Cr-interlayer possess higher interfacial strength at ambient and elevated temperatures. These phenomena were investigated and related explanations are described in the paper.