The effect of PVD coatings on the wear behaviour of magnesium alloys

In this study, AlN/TiN was coated on magnesium alloys using physical vapour deposition (PVD) technique of DC magnetron sputtering, and the influence of the coating on the wear behaviour of the alloys was examined. A physical vapour deposition system for coating processes, a reciprocating wear system for wear tests, a universal hardness equipment for hardness measurement, a X-ray diffractometer (XRD) for compositional analysis of the coating, and a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for surface examinations were used. It was determined that the wear resistance of the magnesium alloys can be increased by PVD coatings. However, small structural defects which could arise from the coating process or substrate were observed in the coating layers.