Damage evolution behavior of TiN/Ti multilayer coatings under high-speed impact conditions

The erosion of compressor blades by solid particles brings huge safety hazards to aero engines. The application of erosion-resistant hard coating has become a good solution to protect titanium alloy blades. In this work, TiN monolayer and TiN/Ti multilayer coatings were prepared on Ti-6Al-4V alloy using a magnetic filtered cathode vacuum arc system (FCVA) and a metal vapor vacuum arc (MEVVA) ion implantation device. The mechanical properties of the coatings were evaluated by nanoindentation and scratch tests. The damage evolution behavior and mechanism of TiN monolayer and TiN/Ti multilayer coatings are studied by single-particle impact test and finite element simulation. The results show that the fracture toughness of TiN monolayer coating is lower than that of TiN/Ti multilayer coating; TiN/Ti multilayer coatings exhibit good erosion resistance. The main reason lies in that the Ti layer dissipates part of impact energy by plastic deformation and reduces the tensile stress. The interfaces in the multilayer coating inhibited the propagation of cracks. •TiN monolayer coating and TiN/Ti multilayer coating were prepared on Ti-6Al-4V alloy.•The damage evolution of TiN and TiN/Ti coating are studied by high-speed single-particle impact test and FEM.•The results of finite element simulation with cohesive zone well agree with test results.•The interface in the multilayer coating plays a role in inhibiting the propagation of cracks.