Investigation of cracking prevention in magnetron-sputtered TiAlN coatings during subsequent electron beam hardening

Cracking of magnetron sputtered TiAlN coatings during a subsequent electron beam hardening of their steel base material is investigated. Damaging of the coatings can be related to the thermal stress during a subsequent hardening of the steel. Also the increasing surface roughness due to the martensitic transformation can lead to bending cracks in the coating. 75