Abstract
The chapter presented a short review related to the factors that dictate the wear and friction behavior of various coatings obtained by PVD techniques used for various applications. An important parameter with high impact on the final properties of the coatings prepared by cathodic arc evaporation is the reactive atmosphere. The friction and wear performance of the carbide coatings were strongly dependent on the carbon content which can be controlled by varying the C2H2 mass flow rate and the arc current on the cathode. Regarding the carbonitrides coatings, the ratio of C/N plays an important role; the coating with a low C/N ratio showed reduced friction coefficients, while for the coatings with a high C/N ratio the wear was improved. For biomedical applications, the magnetron sputtering deposition technique was employed to enhance the tribological performance of Ti6Al4V alloy in Ringer solution using various types of coatings such as carbonitrides, carbide, or hydroxyapatite.
TopBackground
In broad terms, tribology can be defined as the science and technology of rubbing surfaces in contact and relative motion and entails the study and application of friction, lubrication and wear principles. There is a considerable amount of available literature on the outstanding mechanical properties of carbides, nitrides or carbonitrides which were found to be suitable for a large variety of tribological applications (Aissani et al., 2019; Yao et al., 2017). In recent years, various deposition techniques were employed to obtain enhanced tribological properties such as magnetron sputtering, pulsed laser deposition, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition or cathodic arc evaporation. The reported results showed excellent wear and friction reduction, while microscale surface texturing proved to have also a beneficial effect on the tribological performances (Meng et al., 2018). The high entropy alloys represent a recently novel category which also showed superior mechanical properties as compared to binary or ternary coatings.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Magnetron Sputtering: A Physical Vapour Deposition technique where a material target is sputtered by energetic particles bombardment in order to condensate on the substrate and form a thin film.
Lubrication: The process of reducing friction and wear during sliding of two objects.
Friction: The resistance of motion that occurs during sliding of two objects.
Carbide: A compound formed based on carbon and a metal.
Tibocorrosion: The combined degradation process that occurs during sliding of two objects in a corrosive environment.
Cathodic Arc Evaporation: A Physical Vapour Deposition technique where a material target is vaporised using an electric arc in order to condensate on the substrate and form a thin film.
Nitride: A compound formed based on nitrogen and a metal.
Wear: The process of removal and deformation of a material that occurs during sliding of two objects.