The Effect of Vacuum Annealing Temperature on the Properties of AlCrTiSiN Coating Prepared by Arc Ion Plating

Abstract

In order to further improve the mechanical and tribological properties of AlCrTiSiN coating, annealing treatment was carried out in this work. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nanoindentation, scratch tester, friction, and a wear tester were used to characterize and explore the effects of annealing temperature on the coating composition, phase component, surface and cross-sectional morphology, and mechanical properties as well as the friction and wear performance of the AlCrTiSiN coatings. The results indicated that after the vacuum annealing the content of amorphous phase decreased and the average size of nanocrystals increased in varying degrees. With the increase in annealing temperature the coating surface became smoother and the cross-section morphology changed little. The coating hardness first increased and then decreased. The adhesion between the coating and substrate decreased after annealing, but the wear resistance was improved. When the annealing temperature was 800 °C, the mechanical properties and wear resistance of the resulting coating were the best. In this case, the coating hardness was 27 GPa, the critical load was 61 N, the friction coefficient was 0.66, and the wear rate was 1.97 × 10−3 μm3/N·μm−1.