A study on scuffing and transition of friction and wear of TiN films using ultrasonic backward radiation

To examine the tribological characteristics of the very thin titanium nitride (TiN) ceramic layers coated on AISI 1045 steel substrate, the ultrasonic backward radiation technique was applied on worn surfaces. The ultrasonic backward radiation profiles have been measured under the variation in the applied sliding loading up to scuffing failure. The sliding tests were performed with pin-on-disk type. Mildly worn surfaces of coating were compared with severely worn surfaces, and also the scuffed surfaces are compared with usually worn surfaces. In the experiments performed in the current study, the peak angle and the peak amplitude of ultrasonic backward radiation profile varied sensitively depending on worn surfaces. In fact, these results demonstrate a high possibility of the ultrasonic backward radiation as an effective tool for the nondestructive characterization on the wear of the TiN coated layers.