Friction and wear performance of CrSiBCN coatings sliding against ceramic and metal counterparts in sea water

In order to optimize the counterpart material and subsequently improve the tribological properties of CrSiBCN coatings on transmission components in sea water, the friction behaviour of CrSiBCN coatings sliding against two ceramics and two metals was investigated. The overall relative index (RIo) of friction coefficient and wear rate was used as evaluation criterion. Experimental results showed that CrSiBCN/Al2O3 and CrSiBCN/brass tribopairs presented the worse tribological properties than the average level indicated as positive RIo (1.64 and 0.22). In contrast, CrSiBCN/SiC and CrSiBCN/GCr15 tribopairs presented the better tribological properties than the average level indicated as negative RIo (-1.45 and -0.39). On this basis, since the lubrication effect of the silica gel generated from the hydration of SiC, CrSiBCN/SiC tribopair exhibited both lower friction coefficient and lower coatings wear rate than the average values. It was indicated that SiC was the suitable counterpart material matching with CrSiBCN coatings in sea water.