The present work investigated mechanical properties and fracture mechanisms of monolayer TiAlSiN coating and multilayer TiAlSiN nano-coating by sequential load-indentation tests. The coatings were deposited on cemented carbide substrate by physical vapour deposition method. After indentation tests, surface morphology and residual indentation depth of two coatings were observed by using SEM and 3D optical profiler. The load–displacement curves were measured and there is almost linear correlation between applied loads and indentation depths in loading portion. It was also found that monolayer TiAlSiN coating is more susceptible to crack initiation and propagation compared with multilayer TiAlSiN nano-coating. The shape of ring cracks for two coatings is different due to the different coating capacity of the stress concentration resistance. Besides, cracks number of multilayer TiAlSiN nano-coating are less and most cracks distribute in a broad zone around indentation edge. It could be concluded that fracture resistance of multilayer TiAlSiN nano-coating is superior.
MayrhoferP. H., MittererC., HultmanL. and ClemensH.: ‘Microstructural design of hard coatings’, Prog. Mater. Sci., 2006, 51, (8), 1032–1114. doi: 10.1016/j.pmatsci.2006.02.002
2.
YasharP. C. and SproulW. D.: ‘Nanometer scale multilayered hard coatings’, Vacuum, 1999, 55, (3-4), 179–190. doi: 10.1016/S0042-207X(99)00148-7
3.
MaC. H., HuangJ. H. and ChenH.: ‘Nanohardness of nanocrystalline TiN thin films’, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2006, 200, (12-13), 3868–3875. doi: 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2004.10.098
4.
WarcholinskiB. and GilewiczA.: ‘Mechanical properties of multilayer TiAlN/CrN coatings deposited by cathodic arc evaporation’, Surf. Eng., 2011, 27, (7), 491–497. doi: 10.1179/026708410X12786785573355
5.
UpadhyayR. K. and KumaraswamidhasL. A.: ‘Investigation of monolayer–multilayer PVD nitride coating’, Surf. Eng., 2015, 31, (2), 123–133. doi: 10.1179/1743294414Y.0000000344
6.
Prem AnanthM. and RameshR.: ‘Tribological improvement of titanium alloy surfaces through texturing and TiAlN coating’, Surf. Eng., 2014, 30, (10), 758–762. doi: 10.1179/1743294414Y.0000000293
7.
UribeE., SalasO., Melo-MáximoD., OsegueraJ., LepienskiC. M., TorresR. D. and SouzaR. M.: ‘Development of Al oxide PVD coatings against metal dusting’, Surf. Eng., 2015, 31, (2), 114–122. doi: 10.1179/1743294414Y.0000000322
8.
HosseiniS. H., MirdamadiS. and RastegariS.: ‘Investigating efficiency of α-Al2O3 diffusion barrier layer in oxidation of EB-PVD NiCrAlY coatings’, Surf. Eng., 2015, 31, (2), 146–155. doi: 10.1179/1743294414Y.0000000365
9.
Domínguez-MeisterS., El MrabetS., Escobar-GalindoR., MariscalA., Jiménez De HaroM. C., JustoA., BrizuelaM., RojasT. C. and Sánchez-LópezJ. C.: ‘Role of Y in the oxidation resistance of CrAlYN coatings’, Appl. Surf. Sci., 2015, 353, 504–511. doi: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2015.06.099
10.
JiangF., YanL. and RongY.: ‘Orthogonal cutting of hardened AISI D2 steel with TiAlN-coated inserts – simulations and experiments’, Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol., 2013, 64, (9-12), 1555–1563. doi: 10.1007/s00170-012-4122-3
11.
ShanL., WangY., LiJ., LiH., LuX. and ChenJ.: ‘Structure and mechanical properties of thick Cr/Cr2N/CrN multilayer coating deposited by multi-arc ion plating’, Trans. Nonferrous Met. Soc., 2015, 25, (4), 1135–1143. doi: 10.1016/S1003-6326(15)63708-6
12.
HovsepianP. E., LuoQ., RobinsonG., PittmanM., HowarthM., DoerwaldD., TietemaR., SimW. M., DeemingA. and ZeusT.: ‘TiAlN/VN superlattice structured PVD coatings: A new alternative in machining of aluminium alloys for aerospace and automotive components’, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2006, 201, (1-2), 265–272. doi: 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2005.11.106
13.
LiuB., DengB. and TaoY.: ‘Influence of niobium ion implantation on the microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of TiAlN/CrN nano-multilayer coatings’, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2014, 240, 405–412. doi: 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2013.12.065
14.
WangQ., ZhouF. and YanJ.: ‘Evaluating mechanical properties and crack resistance of CrN, CrTiN, CrAlN and CrTiAlN coatings by nanoindentation and scratch tests’, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2016, 285, 203–213. doi: 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2015.11.040
15.
WiecińskiP., SmolikJ., GarbaczH. and KurzydłowskiK. J.: ‘Failure and deformation mechanisms during indentation in nanostructured Cr/CrN multilayer coatings’, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2014, 240, 23–31. doi: 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2013.12.006
16.
XiaoY., ShiW. and LuoJ.: ‘Indentation for evaluating cracking and delamination of thin coatings using finite element analysis’, Vacuum, 2015, 122, 17–30. doi: 10.1016/j.vacuum.2015.09.003
17.
FuK., ChangL., ZhengB., TangY. and YinY.: ‘Analysis on cracking in hard thin films on a soft substrate under Berkovich indentation’, Vacuum, 2015, 112, 29–32. doi: 10.1016/j.vacuum.2014.11.013
18.
RafajaD., PokladA., KlemmV., SchreiberG., HegerD. and ŠímaM.: ‘Microstructure and hardness of nanocrystalline Ti1−x−y
Al
x
Si
y
N thin films’, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2007, 462, (1-2), 279–282. doi: 10.1016/j.msea.2005.11.086
19.
JiangF., XieH., RongY. and YanL.: ‘Tribology performance and adhesive strength evaluation of TiAlSiN coating’, Trans. Tianjin Univ., 2011, 17, (4), 248–253. doi: 10.1007/s12209-011-1601-9
20.
KnightJ. C., PageT. F. and HutchingsI. M.: ‘Surface deformation behaviour of TiC and TiN coated steels: 1 indentation response’, Surf. Eng., 1989, 5, (3), 213–225. doi: 10.1179/sur.1989.5.3.213
