Abstract
The wear behaviour of three chromium based metallic and compound coatings on a JIS SKD61 (AISI H13) tool steel has been investigated. Hard chromium, chromium nitride, and chromium carbide coatings were applied to the SKD61 steel using electroplating, cathodic arc plasma deposition, and thermoreactive diffusion respectively. Microstructures, crystal structures, and chemical compositions of the coated materials were examined using SEM, XRD, and GDOS. The microhardnesses of the hard chromium, chromium carbide, and chromium nitride coatings were found to be 943, 1667, and 2148 HV respectively. Results of wear tests showed that the hard chromium coating, with the highest friction coefficient and a low hardness value, exhibits the lowest wear resistance. The wear resistance of the chromium carbide and chromium nitride coated SKD61 steels was excellent: these coatings are very hard, with either strong cohesion bonding between the coating and the substrate or low friction coefficient.
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