Recatest—A Technique for Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment of Deferment and Degraded PVD Coatings and CVD Layers in the Deformed Area in the Scratch Test

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to present a new Recatest testing technique which uses a series of abrasions within a scratch and its innovative application to describe selected quantitative parameters of locally, plastically deformed substrate and coating materials detected on the spherical microsection in the scratch test. The exposed material structures are subject to a metallographic analysis which allows for the determination of the quantitative parameters, which in turn allow for a description of the change in dynamics of the coating structure within the scratch area as a function of load. These parameters include scratch depth (hs), coating thickness (h1), flash height (hoc, hos), depth of intended material (hd), material depth under scratch (hcp), and material depth under coating (hdb). The paper also includes a description of the Recalo test device designed by the authors, which is used to make a series of spherical abrasion traces on the scratch surface. Recalo is dedicated to the Recatest technique. The analysed material was the CrN/CrCN/HS6-5-2, AlCrN -Alcrona-Balinit/D2 coatings deposited on tool steels.