Abrasive wear of multilayer κ-Al2O3-Ti(C,N) CVD coatings on cemented carbide

In the present study the wear resistance of kappa-Al2O3-Ti(C,N) multilayer CVD coatings with different multilayer structures (8, 15, 32 layers of kappa-Al2O3 separated by thin Ti(C,N) layers) have been investigated using a micro-abrasion and a cutting test. The results show that the wear rate of the kappa-Al2O3 multilayer coatings tend to decrease with decreasing layer thickness in the micro-abrasion test and decrease with increasing layer thickness in the cutting tests. The reason for this is mainly due to the difference in wear behaviour depending on temperature. The results obtained are discussed in relation to the dominant wear mechanisms of the coatings which have been identified using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The potential of the micro-abrasion test in the characterisation of thin CVD coatings for cutting tool applications is discussed.