An investigating of how mechanical properties impact the erosion resistance of CrN, CrTiN, and CrTiSiN PVD coatings

One main challenge in many industrial applications is the damage caused by erosion and surface engineering is the leading solution for increasing the material's resistance to erosion. In the present study, CrN, CrTiN, and CrTiSiN coatings were applied on 410 martensitic steel through cathodic arc evaporation (CAE) technique with the goal of increasing erosion resistance. XRD was used to identify the phases. Also, the coatings' surface morphology and cross-sectional area were studied by FESEM. The mechanical properties of the coatings were evaluated by nanoindentation testing. To investigate the erosion behavior of the coatings, the erosion test was carried out by the impingment of SiO 2 particles at two angles of 30° and 90°. The hardness of the substrate, CrN, CrTiN, and CrTiSiN coatings were calculated as 4, 17, 20, and 23 GPa, respectively. The results indicate a 70% reduction in mass loss at the incident angle of 30° and a 19.5% reduction at 90° for the CrTiN coating compared to the substrate. H/E and H 3 /E 2, were used to investigate the relationship between mechanical properties and erosion behavior. Based on this, the substrate with the lowest H 3 /E 2 (1 MPa) has the highest erosion rate of 0.32, and the CrTiN coating with the highest H 3 /E 2 (117 MPa) has the lowest erosion rate of 0.04 at a 30° angle among the studied samples. Finally, based on the results, applying nitride coatings improves mechanical properties and increases the erosion resistance of the substrate. • Appling the nitride coatings effectively improved erosion resistance at both impacting angles. • The H/E and H 3 /E 2 are vital factors in predicting the resistance to plastic deformation of the hard coatings. • The CrTiN coating with the highest H 3 /E 2 ratio of 0.117 GPa demonstrates the lowest erosion rate in both 30° and 90°.