Abstract
The sliding wear resistance of single layer and multilayer TiN and TiC coatings produced by plasma enhanced CVD on tool steel has been evaluated using a washer on disc test method. The relative pelformances of the coatings were studied using X-ray diffractometric characterisation and observation byscanning electron microscopy. The wear behaviour of the coated specimens was such that: all the coated specimens showed better wear resistance than the blank material but with varying degrees of improvement, TiN coatings were superior to TiC, multilayer coatings were better than single layer coatings, and multilayer coatings having TiN as the outermost surface were better than those having TiC as the outermost surface. It was found that the fracture toughness of the coating and not its hardness determined wear resistance. This was confirmed by an indentation testing method.
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