The experimental resistance parameter for TiN coating to cavitation action

A series of cavitation erosion tests were carried out to investigate the resistance of the TiN coatings to cavitation action. The TiN coatings were deposited at various deposition parameters on austenitic stainless steel, X6CrNiTi18-10, and with various thickness by means of the cathodic arc evaporation method (ARC PVD). Investigations were performed in a cavitation tunnel with a slot cavitator. The investigations show that hardness, Young's modulus, adhesion and coating thickness have an influence on coating endurance to cavitation degradation. The obtained parameter H•L_C2/E•h^1/2 shows very good fitting to date points (R²=0.96). With the increase of the H•L_C2/E•h^1/2 parameter the mass loss decreases indicating a continuous improvement in the cavitation erosion resistance.