Effect of the Substrate on the Fretting Wear of Sputtered W-Si-N Coatings Against Steel Available to Purchase

Fretting tests of sputtered W-Si-N amorphous coatings were performed on both cemented tungsten carbide with 6wt.% of Co and AISI 310 steel substrates against spherical AISI 52100 steel counterbodies. The normal load and the amplitude of relative displacement were varied. The evolution of the tangential force during the test was recorded. At the end of each test, the volume and the surface morphology of the wear scars were measured and analyzed. The relationship between the dissipated frictional energy and the wear volume was calculated. The results allowed plotting fretting maps identifying the occurrence of different fretting regimes.