Influence of Toughness on Tribological Performance of TiN/Ti Multilayer Coatings

Influence of toughness on tribological performance of TiN/Ti multilayer coatings was investigated.Filtered cathode vacuum arc(FCVA) deposition method was applied to prepare the TiN/Ti multilayer coatings with different Ti sublayer thickness.Transmission electron microscope(TEM) was used to observe the laminate structure and individual layer thickness of the TiN/Ti multilayer coatings.Indentation test and wear experiment were carried out on Rockwell-C hardmeter and universal micro materials tester(UMT),respectively.The experimental results showed that the introduction of Ti sublayer in TiN/Ti multilayers remarkably enhanced toughness of the multilayers.Under relatively large load,wear resistance of the TiN/Ti multilayer coatings was evidently improved comparing to TiN monolayer.Finally,according to the experimental results,the influence of toughness on wear resistance of the TiN/Ti multilayer coatings was discussed.