Dependence of the friction coefficient on roughness parameters during early stage fretting of (Al,Ti)N coated surfaces

Main focus was on the correlation of the coefficient of friction (COF) with the geometrical parameters of the surface during early stage of the running-in period. TiN, TiAlN and AlTiN coatings were prepared by using rotating cathode arc evaporation unit. The roughness of the WC-Co substrate Ra ranged from 0.05 to 0.2 μm and the coating thickness was 2.3 ± 0.2 μm. Part of the samples were subjected to the surface modification by the drag grinding finishing. Geometrical parameters of the surface were evaluated by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and fretting tests were conducted with 10 mm diameter alumina ball under 2 N load, 100 μm slip distance and the frequency of 10 Hz. It was found that the distribution of macroparticles strongly influences the geometrical parameters of the surface and the number of macroparticles increases with increasing Al content in the coating. In the case of the positive skewness Ssq of the coating surface, the kurtosis Sku provides a statistically significant effect on the COF, namely the COF depends inversely on the kurtosis Sku. The kurtosis value for TiN was the highest among as-deposited coatings, subsequently, the slowest increase rate in the COF was observed for the TiN coating.

► The correlation between the coefficient of friction (COF) with the initial geometrical parameters of the surface during early stage of the running-in period. ► The key role of the surface defects. ► The COF depends inversely on the kurtosis, assuming positive skewness.