The influence of ductile interlayer material on the particle erosion resistance of multilayered TiN based coatings

The effect of interlayer material on the particle erosion performance of titanium nitride (TiN)-based, magnetron-sputtered, physical vapor deposited (MS-PVD) coatings for the protection of AM355 steel components, subjected to hard particle erosion, was investigated. TiN-based coatings with interlayers of Ti, Zr, Hf, and Nb were compared for hard particle erosion resistance against angular alumina and glass bead mediaat velocities of 75 m/s and 180 m/s. In this study, high values of Vickers microhardness correlated with poor erosion performance. The TiN/Zr multilayer coatings exhibited the worst durability for all erosion conditions, even though they were the hardest coatings and had the lowest erosion rates (mass loss) early in life against glass bead media. The TiN/Nb multilayer coatings provided the best durability in most conditions. Although the TiN/Ti coatings showed best durability against the alumina particles, this difference was small and may be attributed to the relative total thickness of the coatings.