Corrosion behaviour of nanocomposite TiSiN coatings on steel substrates

Ahmed, M.S., Munroe, P., Jiang, Z-T, Zhao, X-P, Rickard, W., Zhou, Z-F, Li, L.K.Y. and Xie, Z. (2011) Corrosion behaviour of nanocomposite TiSiN coatings on steel substrates. Corrosion Science, 53 (11). pp. 3678-3687.

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Abstract

Nanocomposite TiSiN coatings were deposited on tool steels. Detailed mechanisms that govern the corrosion of these coated steels were revealed, following immersion tests in a 70% nitric acid solution. Pitting originated preferentially from coating defect sites and expanded with increasing immersion time. Both Young’s modulus and hardness measured by nanoindentation decreased as the corrosion damage intensified. A thin oxide layer formed from the thermal annealing of the as-deposited samples at 900 °C was found to be effective against corrosive attack. In addition, compressive residual stress was noted to suppress the propagation of corrosion-induced cracks. The role of residual stress in controlling the corrosion resistance of these ceramic-coated steels is clarified by finite element analysis.