Mechanical and chemical characterisation of TiN and AlTiSiN coatings on a LPBF processed IN718 substrate

Abstract

Wear-resistant coatings development is progressively increasing steeply due to their advantageswhen applied to mechanical components subjected to abrasive and destructive environments.Titanium nitride (TiN) coating is typically used to enlarge tools and components’ service lifeand improve their surface quality. On the other hand, AlTiSiN coating intends to be applied to moreaggressive environments such as spatial satellites components exposed to solar radiation, extremelyhigh temperatures, and random particles impact. In this work, specimens of Inconel 718 (IN718)were fabricated via laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), and physical vapour deposition (PVD)-depositedwith TiN and AlTiSiN as coatings to mechanically and chemically characterise their surface. Inthis respect, microhardness testing and chemical analysis via glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy(GDOES) were performed. Later, roughness and wear behaviour analyses were carriedout to evaluate the mechanical performance of both coatings and their surface and morphologicalfeatures. The experimental observations allowed the analysis of both studied coatings by comparingthem with the substrate processed via LPBF.