Cavitation resistance of Cr–N coatings deposited on austenitic stainless steel at various temperatures

Cr–N coatings were deposited on austenitic stainless steel, X6CrNiTi18-10, by means of the cathodic arc evaporation method at three substrate temperatures: 200 °C, 350 °C and 500 °C. All coatings were found to have a composition of Cr(N), CrN and Cr2N. The substrate temperature was found to have an influence on the hardness and Youngʹs modulus of the Cr–N coatings. The investigation of nanocrystalline Cr–N coatings resistance to cavitation was performed in a cavitation tunnel with a slot cavitator and tap water as the medium. The estimated cavitation resistance parameters of the coatings were the incubation period of damage and total mass loss. It was found that the optimal coating cavitation resistance was deposited at 500 °C. The incubation period for the 500 °C deposition coating was the same as that of the uncoated X6CrNiTi18-10 steel, but the total mass loss was significantly lower than on the uncoated specimen. The scanning electron microscope analysis indicated that the damage process of the Cr–N coating mainly originates from the plastic deformation of the steel substrate–hard coating system, which appears by “micro-folding” of the surface. An increase of tensile stresses at the top of micro-folds initiates micro-cracks and delamination of Cr–N coating. The results of the investigation and the analysis indicate that the factors mainly responsible for cavitation resistance of the steel substrate/hard coating system are resistant to plastic deformation of the total system and coating adhesion.