Effects of Abrasive Particle Type, Load and Sliding Distance on Micro-Abrasion Resistance of High Speed Steel Coated with AlCrN or AlTiN

Abstract

High Speed Steel (HSS) specimen surfaces were coated with AlCrN and AlTiN via Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) method. Then, the wear performances of the film coatings so produced were investigated by using different abrasive types with different particle sizes. During the micro-abrasion wear tests, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 N loads were applied for periods of 60 and 180 seconds. During the wear tests, wear loss increased with increasing SiC and Al₂O₃ abrasive particle size. Micro-grooving and micro-rolling wear were observed when F800 and F1200 abrasive slurry were used, respectively. It was determined that the volume losses formed by SiC abrasive particles on AlTiN and AlCrN coatings to be higher than Al₂O₃ abrasive particles. Volume losses increased with the increase in the applied load and the number of cycles. The AlCrN coatings exhibited better wear resistance than the AlTiN coatings. The applied test load had a significant effect on the wear mechanisms observed.