project period: 01.07.2019 – 30.06.2022
research institutions
TU Darmstadt – Institut für Werkstoffkunde
abstract
Hard chrome coatings are still the first choice for components subject to simultaneous corrosive and tribological stress. The restrictions on the use of electrolytes containing chromium(VI) acid that have been in place since 2017 as a result of the REACH regulation, as well as increasingly stringent environmental requirements, are forcing the identification of alternative surface protection systems in many areas.
Therefore, there is a high economic interest in the development of PVD hard coatings which, in addition to their superior tribological properties, also provide corrosion protection for unalloyed and low-alloyed heat-treatable steels. So far, however, no industrial PVD coatings are available that meet these requirements. With the results of the predecessor project IGF 19124N, a starting point for competitive PVD coating systems is available for the first time.
The main objective of the proposed research project is to optimize the performance of TiMgSEN-based PVD coatings to improve the corrosion and wear protection of unalloyed and low-alloyed steels with application-specific individualized requirement profiles.
The results targeted in the project hold the following innovation potential:
– Opening up new industrial fields of application in which PVD coatings have not yet been used due to their previously limited corrosion protection capability.
– Identification of limit values and parameter windows to ensure reproducible coating results.
– Improving environmental and health protection by eliminating chemicals, especially the carcinogenic hexavalent chromic acid electrolytes used in the production of hard chromium coatings
– Economic advantages, as higher added value can be achieved at similar coating costs compared to currently available PVD coating systems.
– Ensuring reproducible coating results and guaranteeing corrosion and wear protection by means of application-specific individualized coatings.
Publications
H. Hoche, C. Pusch, M. Oechsner: Corrosion and wear protection of mild steel substrates by innovative PVD coatings.
Surface and Coatings Technology, Volume 391, 15 June 2020, 125659
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2020.125659
T. Ulrich, C. Pusch, H. Hoche, P. Polcik, M. Oechsner: Boosting the wear and corrosion properties of PVD-TiMgGdN coated mild steels using novel powder metallurgical TiMgGd targets.
Surface and Coatings Technology, Volume 422, 25 September 2021, 127496
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2021.127496