EFECTO DEL CONTENIDO DE CARBONO SOBRE LA RESISTENCIA AL DESGASTE ABRASIVO DE RECUBRIMIENTOS DE CrC DEPOSITADOS POR PULVERIZACIÓN CATÓDICA MAGNETRÓN

Chromium carbide coatings on steel are a good candidate for applications on forming and molding dies. The high mechanical strength, chemical resistance and high temperature stability of Cr3C2 phase can be compatible with the severe abrasive wear and corrosion found in those manufacture operations. In this work chromium carbide coatings deposited by means of RF magnetron sputtering showed carbon contents between 25 % and 58 % by EDS analysis. Hardness values of these coatings were between 15 and 24 GPa, being the hardest values in the samples with carbon content in the 39-53 % range. The abrasive wear behavior of the coatings was evaluated by using a dimple grinder with diamond powder. The volume of the abrasion craters was measured from the images obtained with the interferometric microscope, and further corroborated by geometrical volume calculation based in profilometer sections that were measured. Abrasive wear behavior showed a marked dependence with carbon content. The lowest abrasive wear was obtained for the coatings with the highest carbon content.