Structure and properties of modulated TiC/VC carbide coatings on HSS steels.

Ultra fine grained and nanostructured materials belong to a new group of materials which can provide better performance of products in numerous industrial branches, in particular in tool industry and in machine construction. Modulated, multilayer coatings belong to the new group as well. In the work the TiC/VC multilayer carbide coatings on M2 and ASP2023 HSS steels are presented with the apparent modulation parameter lambda = 40nm, 200nm, 800nm and 4 mum. The reference to the single TiC and VC coatings is given as well. The coatings have been deposited by means of an indirect method elaborated in the Technical University of Łódź. The results of primary investigations of the structure, texture, morphology, grain size, chemical composition, microhardness and adhesion of the coatings to the HSS substrate as well as some remarks concerning nucleation and growth of the TiC and VC phases are given in the work.