A study on Adhesion and Wear Resistance of Vanadium Carbide Coating on Die Steels by Immersing in Molten Borax Bath

용융 붕사욕 침지법에 의해 금형용 강에 형성된 VC coating층의 밀착성과 내마모성에 관한 연구

A study on adhesion and wear resistance of VC(vanadium carbide) coating on die steels, STD11 and STD61, has been carried out. The VC coating on the die steels was made by immersing them in molten borax bath, a kind of TRD(thermo-reactive deposition and diffusion). Adhesion strength and wear resistance were investigated using scratch test, indentation test and plate-disc test(Ogoshi type) respectively. The influence of sliding distance on the amount of wear has been determined and dominant wear mechanisms has been characterized using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and EDS spectroscopy. The critical adhesion strength($L_c$) between VC coating layer and substrate(STD11) was increased to 60N($L_c$) in the scratch test. In the case of STD61, the strength increased to 24N. The wear resistance of VC coated die steels was excellent because the diffusion layer formed just below the coating layer. The dominant wear mechanism was identified as adhesive wear for VC coating die steels which were worn by combination of cracking and plucking of VC fragments and disc.