Comparative Study on the Tribological Properties of TiN Films Prepared by Multi Arc Ion Plating and Filtered Cathodic Arc Plasma Deposition

Two kinds of TiN films were prepared on CrNi18Ti9 stainless steel substrate using filtered cathodic arc plasma (FCAP) apparatus equipped with an in-plane "S" filter and multi-arc ion-plating (MAIP) equipment, respectively, under the same deposition parameters. The friction and wear behaviors of the resulting TiN films under dry sliding against SAE52100 steel in a ball-on-disc configuration were evaluated on a UMT-2M test rig. The worn surface morphologies of the films and the counterpart steel balls were observed using a scanning electron microscope, while the elemental distributions of Fe and Ti on the worn surfaces of the counterpart steel balls were determined by means of energy dispersive spectroscopy. It was found that the TiN film prepared by FCAP technique was smooth and free of the defects such as voids and cracks, and it had obvious (111) preferential orientation. Contrary to the above, the TiN film prepared making use of the MAIP technique was relatively rough and had the defects including voids, and it had no texture. The TiN films prepared making use of different techniques showed different friction and wear behaviors as they slid against the steel counterpart. Specifically, the worn surface of the TiN film prepared by FCAP was much smoother than that of the film by MAIP, which conformed to the much better wear-resistance of the former than the latter as well. The differences in the friction and wear behaviors of the TiN films prepared by different techniques were related to their different transferring behavior onto the worn surface of the counterpart steel ball.