Analysis of Surface Coating Technology in Improving Various Tribological Properties of Gear Material

THE GEAR SURFACE UNDERGOES SEVERE WORKING CONDITIONS DUE TO RISE IN DEMAND FOR OPERATING WITH HIGH-SPEED, HEAVY-DUTY, LIGHT WEIGHT, LOW ENERGY CONSUMPTION, DOWNSIZING AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS THE SURFACE COATINGS ARE THE INNOVATIVE WAY OF ENHANCING THE WEAR RESISTANCE AND EFFICIENCY IN ROLLING-SLIDING CONTACTS SUCH AS GEARS. IN THE CURRENT STUDY THE WC-10Co-CR-NIAL COMPOSITE COATING WAS DEVELOPED ON STANDARD GEAR MATERIAL 20MNCR5 ALLOY STEEL. SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AND X-RAY DIFFRACTION SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN MADE USE OF TO STUDY DEVELOPED COATING MICROSTRUCTURE INCLUDING WEAR MECHANISM. EVALUATION OF HARDNESS, BOND STRENGTH, SURFACE ROUGHNESS AND POROSITY OF DEVELOPED COATING HAS BEEN DONE. THE PIN-ON-DISC TRIBOMETER HAS BEEN APPLIED FOR GATHERING TRIBOLOGICAL INFORMATION. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY WAS TO ANALYZE THE EFFECT OF SPEED, LOAD AND TEMPERATURE ON DEVELOPED COATING. SPECIFIC WEAR RESISTANCE WAS EVALUATED UNDER ALL TEST CONDITIONS. IT HAS BEEN OBSERVED THAT THE WEAR RESISTANCE OF THE COATED SPECIMENS WAS SHOWN APPRECIABLY HIGHER IN COMPARISON TO UNCOATED SPECIMENS. AT 40 °C THE WEAR MECHANISM WAS OBSERVED TO BE ABRASIVE AS WELL AS ADHESIVE WHEREAS AT 400 °C IT APPEARED ALMOST ADHESIVE.