The Resistance of TiN Coatings to Solid Particle Erosion Using Different Deposition Methods

It was found that the corrosion resistance of WC was significantly improved with the addition of a TiN coating. Erosion testing was done using solid particles to quantify dynamic erosion processes in TiN-coated specimens. TiN coatings were deposited on different specimens using physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), or plasma chemical vapor deposition (PCVD). Results from the erosion tests indicated that the corrosion resistances of the WC-Co cemented carbide samples were improved following all three coating processes. The order of corrosion resistance in terms of strength was TiN-PVD > TiN-CVD > TiN-PCVD > uncoated specimen. The TiN-PVD sample also had the highest resistance to erosion of the three sample types. The principal factors that influence erosion resistance are adhesion forces and the ratio of the hardness (H) of a material to the elastic modulus (E) of the material. Experimental results from this study demonstrated that the TiN-PVD sample had a large adhesion force (42 N) and higher H/E and H3/E2 values relative to the other sample types.