Development of wear-resistant coatings for cobalt-base alloys

The level of nuclear plant radiation exposure due to activated cobalt wear debris could potentially be reduced by covering the cobalt-base materials with a wear resistant coating. Laboratory pin-on-disc and rolling contact wear tests were used to evaluate the wear performance of several coatings. Based on the results of these tests, multilayer Cr-nitride coatings and ion nitriding are the most promising approaches