The development of innovative technologies and the employment of diverse material compositions have contributed to the enhancement of wear prediction methods. However, the accurate forecasting of service life and the identification of critical influencing factors remain challenging due to the complex interactions governing wear behaviour. Throughout history, various methodological approaches have been developed to model wear, primarily categorised into analytical calculations and experimental investigations. Analytical methods, including Archard’s equation and its variations, provide a theoretical basis for wear estimation. However, these models frequently depend on empirical coefficients derived from extensive experimentation, which restricts their predictive accuracy. Moreover, classical wear models do not fully account for material fatigue effects and 3D surface texture parameters, which are critical for solving complex engineering problems. Recent advancements have sought to address these limitations by integrating probabilistic surface modelling, fatigue-based degradation theories, and numerical simulations to enhance wear predictions. Experimental investigations remain essential for validating analytical models, as they provide empirical data necessary for parameter calibration. However, these experiments require specialised equipment and are often time-consuming and costly. The integration of modern measurement tools and numerical simulations, such as finite element analysis (FEA) and machine learning-based models, presents a promising direction for improving wear predictions. This review highlights the strengths and limitations of existing wear models and emphasises the need for further refinement of analytical approaches to incorporate fatigue wear mechanisms, real surface roughness effects, and environmental influences for more accurate and reliable wear assessments.

In this article, the fabrication, characterization, tribological performance, and micromechanical properties of nanostructured smart coatings (NSC) based on the multilayered alternating carbonitride/nitride bilayer {TiMe-CN/TiAlSi-N}n system are discussed. The symbol “Me” denotes refractory metals Hf or Nb, and the index “n” shows the number of superlattice periods. The NSC samples were deposited onto bearing steel (100Cr6) substrates using a reactive high-power physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique that can be scaled up for industrial use. The deposited multilayered NSC contained crystalline nanometer-scale TiMe-CN/TiAlSi-N nanoparticles strengthened by Hf or Nb additives, which increased surface microhardness up to 3000 HV. The measured steady-state friction coefficient (CoF) was within the 0.2–0.4 range, and a specific wear rate lower than 2 × 10⁻⁶ mm³/Nm was observed in the dry friction regime. The impact of NSC substrate hardness and NSC coating thickness on microhardness measurement values was investigated. A thicker coating provided a higher integrated (coating + substrate) microhardness value at a lower indentation test force (<0.3 N). As the indentation test force increased, the obtained microhardness values decreased faster for the coatings deposited on a softer substrate. The surface roughness impact on wear properties for specific NSC coatings was observed.

Ceramic Nanostructured Superlattice Coatings (NSC) have broad applicability to improve the parts’ and assemblies’ tribological and mechanical properties for the needs of the automotive and aerospace industries. Improving the material properties using nanocoatings for such a widely used material as, for example, bearing steel 100Cr6 makes it possible to improve the service life of machine parts. In this paper, the correlation dependence between tribological and mechanical properties of the NSC and its surface texture are considered to determine how much surface texture will affect the tribological performance of the coated workpieces, as well as the measuring and evaluation procedure of the nanocoatings, are presented. Three different NSC described by a general empirical formula {TiMe1Me2-CN/TiAlSi-N}n and based on the modified carbonitride/nitride non-stoichiometric chemical composition were created, and their tribological and mechanical properties measured and analyzed in the context with surface texture. NSC deposited by the advanced PVD (Physical vapor deposition) technique demonstrated significantly higher wear resistance (up to 28 times), reasonably lower friction coefficient (CoF) (up to 4 times), and significantly higher hardness of the coated workpieces (up to 7 times) versus substrate material. A strong correlation between the steady-state dry sliding friction, CoF, and the amplitude and functional surface texture parameters of tribo-track were observed. The first results of the initiated research regarding the correlation analysis of the tribological and mechanical properties, on the one hand, and surface texture, on the other hand, of the NSC are reported here.

High strength fibres of carbon, boron, silicon carbide, tungsten, and other materials are widely used to reinforce metal matrix composite materials. Carbon and boron fibers are usually used to reinforce light alloys based on aluminum and magnesium. Products made from these materials are characterized by high strength and rigidity and can be used for a long time. Technological waste containing such fibres are hazardous to the environment because they are durable and have needle-like and other sharp shapes. Therefore, they must be disposed of with extreme care. A significant incentive for the processing and reuse of waste composites of this type is the relatively high cost of production of the primary fibre and the material as a whole. With the increase in the production of such materials in recent years, the need to recycle composite waste is becoming increasingly important. Three main options for primary processing are used to prepare composites for their subsequent use. They are mechanical, thermal, and chemical grinding technologies. One of the actual and practical areas of processing technology is the method of powder metallurgy. This paper presents the main stages of processing composite materials based on an aluminium matrix and B-W fibres to obtain powder compositions. The results of the studies showing the possibility of the effective use of the obtained crushed waste to manufacture concrete products and the production of cutting and grinding tools are presented.

This article discusses the micromechanical properties and true microhardness determination of nanostructured tribological coatings (NTCs) based on a multilayered alternating nitride/carbonitride bilayer substructure for transition metals. The constituent nitride/carbonitride bilayers in the superlattice structure of the NTC were alloyed with refractory metals, denoted as Me = Me₁ or Me₂= Cr, Hf, Nb, W, and Zr. The resulting NTC coatings were deposited onto 100Cr6 steel substrates using an advanced physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique, referred to here as high-power ion-plasma magnetron sputtering (HiPIPMS). The comprising crystalline nanometer-scale TiAlSiMe₁-N/TiMe₂-CN nanoparticles strengthened by Me additives significantly increased the NTC microhardness to over 3200 HV. The primary focus of this research was to determine the true microhardness of the NTC film samples. The apparent microhardness (H_a) of the film/substrate system for various NTC samples was measured during microindentation testing using the Vickers method. Nine NTC samples were tested, each generating a corresponding microindentation dataset containing between 430 and 640 imprints, depending on the specific NTC sample. These datasets were analyzed using three distinct empirical approaches: (i) the inverse power-law model (IPL-Model), (ii) the sigmoid-like decay model (SLD-Model), and (iii) the error function model (ERF-Model). The observed solid correlation between the proposed models and experiments suggests that the true microhardness estimates (H_f) obtained through the empirical mathematical modeling approach are reliable.

This study investigates the nanomechanical and tribological behavior of multilayered nitride/carbonitride nanostructured superlattice type coatings (NTCs) composed of alternating TiAlSiNb-N and TiCr-CN sublayers, deposited via high-power ion-plasma magnetron sputtering (HiPIPMS) technique. Reinforced with refractory elements Cr and Nb, the NTC samples exhibit high nanohardness (39–59 GPa), low friction, and excellent wear resistance. A novel analytical approach was introduced to extract stress–strain field (SSF) gradients and divergences from nanoindentation data, revealing alternating strain-hardening and strain-softening cycles beneath the incrementally loaded indenter. The discovered oscillatory behavior, consistent across all samples under the investigation, suggests a general deformation mechanism in thin films under incremental loading. Fourier analysis of the SSF gradient oscillatory pattern revealed a variety of characteristic dominant wavelengths within the length-scale interval (0.84–8.10) nm, indicating multi-scale nanomechanical responses. Additionally, the NTC samples display an anisotropic coating morphology exhibited as unidirectional undulating surface roughness waves, potentially attributed to atomic shadowing, strain-induced instabilities, and limited adatom diffusion. These findings deepen our understanding of nanoscale deformation in advanced PVD coatings and underscore the utility of SSF analysis for probing thin-film mechanics.