Adhesion evaluation of thin ceramic coatings on tool steel.pdfVIP

H6il#OLO T E L S E V I E R Surface and Coatings Technology 78 1996 87-102 Adhesion evaluation of thin ceramic coatings on tool steel using the scratch testing technique* F o u a d A t t a r a, T h o m a s J o h a n n e s s o n b aLinkdping University,Department of Mechanical Engineering, Divison of Engineering Materials, S-58I 83 Link6ping, Sweden b Lund University,Division of Engineering Materials, S-221 O0Lund, Sweden Received 27 June 1994;accepted in final form 14November 1994 Abstract Coatings of carbides TiC and TiC/CrC and nitrides TiN and CrN were deposited onto two types of cold work tool steel using physical vapour deposition PVD and chemical vapour deposition CVD . The adhesion strength was measured using two versions of the scratch testing technique stepwise and linearly increasing load . The adhesion strength represented by the critical load for coating removal Lc and the coefficient of friction at the critical load gc was determined. The stepwise increasing load resulted in lower Lc and higher/~c compared with the linearly increasing load. The formation of different regular crack patterns in the coatings during the contact between scratch indenter and exposed coating surfaces is presented schematically and the formation mechanism is explained and analysed. Higher residual stresses were observed in PVD coatings deposited onto substrates of greater roughness, owing probably to the high grain boundary constraint during growth. For the CVD coatings, the surface roughness of the substrate did not affect the coatings residual stresses because stress formation is due to the difference in the coefficients of thermal expansion. Models of the work of adhesion between the coating and substrate are reviewed critically and expanded. Keywords: Adhesion; Thin coatings; Scratch testing; Residual stress; Crack behaviour Notat