Microstructure and properties of tungsten carbide coatings sprayed with various high-velocity oxygen fuel spray systems

This article reports on a series of experiments with various high-velocity oxygen fuel spray systems (Jet Kote, Top Gun, Diamond Jet (DJ) Standard, DJ 2600 and 2700, JP-5000, Top Gun-K) using different WC-Co and WC-Co-Cr powders. The microstructure and phase composition of powders and coatings were analyzed by optical and scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. Carbon and oxygen content of the coatings were determined to study the decarburization and oxidation of the material during the spray process. Coatings were also characterized by their hardness, bond strength, abrasive wear, and corrosion resistance. The results demonstrate that the powders exhibit various degrees of phase transformation during the spray process depending on type of powder, spray system, and spray parameters. Within a relatively wide range, the extent of phase transformation has only little effect on coating properties. Therefore, coatings of high hardness and wear resistance can be produced with all HVOF spray systems when the proper spray powder and process parameters are chosen. This paper originally appeared in Thermal Spray: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century; Proceedings of the 15th International Thermal Spray Conference, C. Coddet, Ed., ASM International, Materials Park, OH, 1998. This proceedings paper has been extensively reviewed according to the editorial policy of the Journal of Thermal Spray Technology.     

Innovation of Ultrafine Structured Alloy Coatings Having Superior Mechanical Properties and High Temperature Corrosion Resistance

High temperature protection requires full coating density, high adhesion, minor oxide inclusions, and preferably fine grains, which is not achievable in most thermal spray processes. High velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) thermal spray process has been applied extensively for making such coatings with the highest density and adhesion strength, but the existence of not melted or partially melted particles are usually observed in the HVOF coatings because of relatively low flame temperature and short particle resident time in the process. This work has investigated the development of an innovative HVOF process using a liquid state suspension/slurry containing small alloy powders. The advantages of using small particles in a HVOF process include uniform coating, less defective microstructure, higher cohesion and adhesion, full density, lower internal stress, and higher deposition efficiency. Process investigations have proven the benefits of making alloy coatings with full density and high bond strength attributing to increased melting of the small particles and the very high kinetic energy of particles striking on the substrate. High temperature oxidation and hot corrosion tests at 800 °C have demonstrated that the alloy coatings made by novel LS-HVOF process have superior properties to conventional counterpart coatings in terms of oxidation rates and corrosion penetration depths.     

Evaluation of four high velocity thermal spray guns using WC-10% Co-4% Cr cermets

Four high velocity thermal spray guns were evaluated in the production of 10% Co-4% Cr tungsten carbide (WC) cermets. Three high velocity oxygen fuel guns (JP-5000, JP-5000ST, and Diamond Jet [DJ]-2700) and one plasma gun (Axial III) were used to spray the same angular, agglomerated, and crushed WC-10Co-4Cr powder. The DPV-2000 was used to monitor the in-flight velocity and temperature of the WC cermet-sprayed particles. From those values, spray conditions were selected to produce coatings that were evaluated in terms of porosity, hardness, and deposition efficiency. Results show that the plasma Axial III provides the highest particle temperature, between 2000 °C and 2600 °C, depending on the spray conditions. The JP-5000 imparts the highest velocity to the particles, between 550 and 700 m/s, depending on the spray conditions. The ST version of the JP-5000 provides the same velocity as the standard version but with lower particle temperature. The DJ-2700 sprays particles with temperature and velocity between those of the JP-5000 and the Axial III. Minimum porosity values of 2.1%, 3.7%, and 5.3%, respectively, were obtained for the JP-5000, the DJ-2700, and the Axial III guns. The porosity and carbide degradation are found to depend mostly on the particle velocity and temperature, respectively. The values for the Vickers microhardness number (200g) ranged from 950 to 1250. Measurements of the deposition efficiency indicated a variation between 10% and 80%, depending on the spray conditions and the gun used.     

Deposition of WC-Co Coatings by a Novel High Pressure HVOF

WC-Co coatings are primarily deposited using the high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spray process. However, the decomposition and decarburization of carbides during spraying affects the wear performance and fracture toughness of the coatings. In this paper, a novel high pressure HVOF was developed to achieve lower particle temperature and higher particle velocity. It enables combustion chamber pressures up to 3.0 MPa. The influence of combustion chamber pressure and oxygen/fuel ratio on WC-Co particle velocity and temperature levels were analyzed by numerical simulation. The experimental results show that the combustion chamber pressure and the oxygen/fuel ratio have a significant influence on particle velocity and melting degree, as well as on the microstructure and microhardness of the coating. High velocity WC-Co particles in different states, i.e., molten, semi-molten, and non-molten can be readily obtained by changing the spraying conditions. A comparison to the conventional JP-5000 was also performed.     

Effect of high-velocity oxygen-fuel thermal spraying on the physical and mechanical properties of type 316 stainless steel

Data on the microstructural, physical, and mechanical characteristics of high-velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF)-sprayed type 316 stainless steel coatings are presented and compared with properties of wrought 316 stainless steel. Coatings were prepared at three different spray particle velocities; coating characteristics are presented as a function of velocity. The coatings had relatively low porosity and oxide contents and were significantly harder than annealed, wrought 316 stainless steel. The hardness difference is primarily attributed to high dislocation densities resulting from peening imparted by high-velocity spray particles. The coating hardness increased with increasing spray particle velocity, reflecting increased peening effects. The elastic modulus of the coatings was essentially identical to wrought material. The mean coefficient of thermal expansion of as-sprayed coatings was lower than wrought material, but the expansion of annealed coatings matched the wrought behavior.     

Effect of particle state on the adhesive strength of HVOF sprayed metallic coating

NiCrBSi and Ni-50Cr coatings were deposited using the high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) spray process under different spray parameters with two powders of different sizes to clarify the influence of the melting state of spray particles on the adhesive strength of the coating. The adhesive strength of the coating was estimated according to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) C633-79. The melting state of the spray droplet was examined from the coating microstructure. It was found that the melting state of spray particles had a significant effect on the adhesive strength of HVOF sprayed Ni-based coatings. The significant melting of the spray particle did not contribute to the increase in the adhesion of HVOF metallic coatings. On the other hand, the deposition of a partially melted large particle contributed to the substantial improvement of adhesive strength of the HVOF coating. The subsequent coating presented a dense microstructure and yielded an adhesive strength of more than 76 MPa, which was double that of the coating deposited with completely molten particles. It can be suggested that the good melting of the spray particle is mainly related to the mechanical interlocking effect, which reaches the limited and approximately defined adhesive strength up to 40–50 MPa.     

Optimizing HVOF Spray Parameters to Maximize Bonding Strength of WC-CrC-Ni Coatings on AISI 304L Stainless Steel

High velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF)-sprayed cermet coatings are extensively used to combat erosion-corrosion in naval applications and in slurry environments. HVOF spray parameters such as oxygen flow rate, fuel flow rate, powder feed rate, carrier gas flow rate, and spray distance have significant influence on coating characteristics like adhesion bond strength and shear strength. This paper presents the use of statistical techniques in particular response surface methodology (RSM), analysis of variance, and regression analysis to develop empirical relationships to predict adhesion bond strength and lap shear bond strength of HVOF-sprayed WC-CrC-Ni coatings. The developed empirical relationships can be effectively used to predict adhesion bond strength and lap shear bond strength of HVOF-sprayed WC-CrC-Ni coatings at 95% confidence level. Response graphs and contour plots were constructed to identify the optimum HVOF spray parameters to attain maximum bond strength in WC-CrC-Ni coatings.     

Parameter study of HP/HVOF deposited WC-Co coatings

The deposition parameters of WC-17% Co coatings produced using the JP-5000 liquid-fuel HP/HVOF system (Eutectic TAFA) were investigated with the initial purpose of parameter improvement and optimization. The coating microstructures, porosities, phase compositions, and abrasion resistance were characterized. Preliminary work using the Taguchi statistical experimental design method aimed at optimizing the spray parameters in terms of the microstructure and phase composition was unsuccessful. The variations in the measured properties were too small to be correlated with the spray parameters. Subsequent experiments showed this was primarily due to the fact that the properties, particularly the abrasion resistance, of the WC-Co coatings were not primarily influenced by variations in the spray parameters, but were more dependent on the powder composition, particle size range, and manufacturing route. Hence, the application of Taguchi techniques would have been more effective over a much wider parameter space than was originally used. This result is valuable because it suggests that this process is robust and can be used for WC-Co coatings without large investments in spray parameter optimization and control once the coating and powder type have been fixed.     

Thermal spray and weld repair alloys for the repair of cavitation damage in turbines and pumps: A technical note

The cavitation and erosion resistance of 21 thermal spray coatings and four weld repair materials were investigated in the laboratory using cavitation jet and slurry erosion testing. Of the thermal spray coatings, Stellite® 6 deposited by the high velocity oxyfuel (HVOF) process had the lowest cavitation rate (11.7 mg/h). This was higher than the corresponding cavitation rate (3.2 mg/h) of 308 stainless steel weld metal currently used as a reference. In the slurry erosion testing, the volume loss of Stellite® 6 applied by the HVOF process was 5.33 cubic mm/h, much lower than the corresponding loss (11.17 cubic mm/h) in the currently used stainless steel 304 reference. Furthermore, the electrochemical potential difference between the carbon steel and HVOF sprayed Stellite 6 coating was 0.25 volts, half the potential difference between the 304 stainless steel carbon steel substrate, and will result in reduced galvanic corrosion of the substrate near the contact areas. Stellite 6 deposited by the HVOF process was recommended for repair of damage resulting from erosion and subsequent cavitation by caused by surface roughening.     

Improving corrosion properties of high-velocity oxy-fuel sprayed inconel 625 by using a high-power continuous wave neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser

Thermal spray processes are widely used to protect materials and components against wear, corrosion and oxidation. Despite the use of the latest developments of thermal spraying, such as high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) and plasma spraying, these coatings may in certain service conditions show inadequate performance,e.g., due to insufficient bond strength and/or mechanical properties and corrosion resistance inferior to those of corresponding bulk materials. The main cause for a low bond strength in thermalsprayed coatings is the low process temperature, which results only in mechanical bonding. Mechanical and corrosion properties typically inferior to wrought materials are caused by the chemical and structural inhomogeneity of the thermal-sprayed coating material. To overcome the drawbacks of sprayed structures and to markedly improve the coating properties, laser remelting of sprayed coatings was studied in the present work. The coating material was nickel-based superalloy Inconel 625, which contains chromium and molybdenum as the main alloying agents. The coating was prepared by HVOF spraying onto mild steel substrates. High-power continuous wave Nd:YAG laser equipped with large beam optics was used to remelt the HVOF sprayed coating using different levels of power and scanning speed. The coatings as-sprayed and after laser remelting were characterized by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Laser remelting resulted in homogenization of the sprayed structure. This strongly improved the performance of the laser-remelted coatings in adhesion, wet corrosion, and high-temperature oxidation testing. The properties of the laser-remelted coatings were compared directly with the properties of as-sprayed HVOF coatings and with plasma-transferred arc (PTA) overlay coatings and wrought Inconel 625 alloy.     

Effect of Operating Parameters on a Dual-Stage High Velocity Oxygen Fuel Thermal Spray System

High velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) thermal spray systems are being used to apply coatings to prevent surface degradation. The coatings of temperature sensitive materials such as titanium and copper, which have very low melting points, cannot be applied using a single-stage HVOF system. Therefore, a dual-stage HVOF system has been introduced and modeled computationally. The dual-spray system provides an easy control of particle oxidation by introducing a mixing chamber. In addition to the materials being sprayed, the thermal spray coating quality depends to a large extent on flow behavior of reacting gases and the particle dynamics. The present study investigates the influence of various operating parameters on the performance of a dual-stage thermal spray gun. The objective is to develop a predictive understanding of various parameters. The gas flow field and the free jet are modeled by considering the conservation of mass, momentum, and energy with the turbulence and the equilibrium combustion sub models. The particle phase is decoupled from the gas phase due to very low particle volume fractions. The results demonstrate the advantage of a dual-stage system over a single-stage system especially for the deposition of temperature sensitive materials.     

Particle temperature and velocity effects on the porosity and oxidation of an HVOF corrosion-control coating

Independent control of particle velocity and temperature in the HVOF process has been achieved in this research, allowing these variables to change by 170 m/s and 200 °C, respectively. The independence was achieved using a specially designed nozzle with multiple powder injection ports and by an inert diluent added to the oxygen stream feeding the combustion. Within the available range, notable changes in splat morphology, porosity, and coating oxidation of sprayed 316L stainless steel are readily apparent. Increased particle velocity generally correlates with improved splat deformation but has a weak effect on porosity and no effect on oxidation. Particle temperature, on the other hand, correlates strongly with highly deformed splats, porosity, and oxidation. In fact, highly dense coatings having little oxidation can be formed with relatively low velocity particles if the average particle temperature is kept in the vicinity of the material melting point. This result suggests that particle temperature control is the key to creating dense, low-oxide HVOF-sprayed corrosion-control coatings. Because commercial HVOF equipment currently lacks this capability, the research indicates a useful direction for future development.     

超音速火焰喷涂316L不锈钢涂层性能研究

采用超音速火焰喷涂技术(HVOF)在高强钢表面制备了316L不锈钢涂层,利用扫描电镜、显微硬度仪、电化学测试系统等设备对涂层金相组织、硬度、结合性能和抗腐蚀性能等进行了测试,并分析了WC-CoCr中间层对316L不锈钢粉末涂层结合强度及涂层界面的影响。结果表明:超音速火焰喷涂316L不锈钢粉末颗粒在喷涂中变形充分,形成较致密的涂层,并具有超过400 HV0.1的显微硬度;涂层具有较高自腐蚀电位,耐蚀性优于高强钢;涂层结合强度随着涂层厚度的减小、基体硬度的增加而提高;WC-CoCr底层可改善涂层界面结合,从而改善316L不锈钢涂层的结合性能。     

Ultrafine Particulate Dispersed High-Temperature Coatings by Hybrid Spray Process

Oxide dispersion strengthened alloys (ODS), although not commonly used in coating applications, have long been used for high-temperature structural applications due to their superior creep properties. In this paper, we present the design, synthesis, and characterization of a new class of functionally engineered high-temperature coatings in which ultrafine oxide particulates are dispersed in the matrix alloy to achieve superior creep resistance along with improved high-temperature corrosion and erosion resistance. These coatings were fabricated using a novel technique called “hybrid spray process”. Hybrid spray technique combines arc spray and high-velocity oxy fuel (HVOF) spray processes; the metallic matrix alloys are fused by the wire arcing component of the process, whereas the ultrafine particles are synthesized in-flight by the HVOF component from liquid precursors. These particulate dispersed high-temperature composite coatings were fabricated using liquid precursors for SiO₂, Cr₂O₃, Al₂O₃, and wire feed stock of 55/45 NiCr, in one step. The coatings were then characterized using electron microscopy (SEM/TEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). High-temperature erosion, oxidation, and corrosion performance of these coatings were also evaluated and compared with 304 stainless steel, arc sprayed NiCr coatings as well as Alloy 625 overlay cladding. The hybrid spray process produced dense coatings with uniform dispersion of the ultrafine oxide particles. Further, these coatings also demonstrated superior corrosion, erosion, and oxidation resistance; SiO₂ particulate dispersion being most effective in terms of high-temperature corrosion resistance.     

结晶器铜板超音速火焰喷涂工艺参数对涂层结合强度的影响

文中采用超音速火焰喷涂（HVOF）在结晶器铜板表面喷涂了CoNiCrAlY涂层,研究了喷涂主要工艺参数对涂层结合强度的影响。结果表明：涂层的结合强度随着燃油流量的增大而显著增大,随着氧气流量与喷涂距离的增加结合强度均出现先增加后下降趋势,喷砂后较未喷砂结合强度大大提高。选择合适的粉末形状与粒径对于获得高质量的涂层较为重要。     

Effect of nanostructuring and Al alloying on friction and wear behaviour of thermal sprayed WC–Co coatings

Nanostructured WC–Co and WC–Co–Al coatings, with about 300-μm as-deposited coating thickness, were deposited by high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spraying. Agglomerated nanostructured cermet powders produced by the Mechanomade® process was used for HVOF spraying. Dense and well-adherent coatings with crystal sizes below 30 nm were deposited on stainless steel 304 substrate. Porosity was less than 5% and the bond strength with the substrate was around 60 MPa. Experimental data on friction, wear, and abrasion resistance revealed that nanostructured WC–Co based coatings containing some Al as alloying element, exhibit improved tribological characteristics in comparison to nanostructured and micron-sized WC–Co coatings. This was attributed to a carbide particle distribution within the coating revealed by SEM, the absence of brittle W₂C-like phases revealed by XRD, and the presence of Al at particle/matrix boundaries revealed by TEM.     

热镀锌沉没辊的耐锌腐蚀失效过程

采用超音速火焰喷涂技术在316L不锈钢基体上制备WC-12Co涂层,并测试其在430℃锌液中的耐腐蚀性,分析沉没辊的腐蚀机理以及失效过程。采用SEM、EDS和XRD分析了腐蚀前、后涂层表面显微结构、化学成分及其相组成的变化。结果表明,WC-12Co粒子之间通过高速碰撞发生强烈的塑性变形而结合在一起,涂层内部致密性很好,喷涂过程中没发生明显氧化现象;涂层的显微硬度平均为1 215HV0.2,结合强度达到85MPa;无涂层试样在腐蚀59h后直径减少20%;经过10天的浸锌试验后,涂层开始产生均匀性腐蚀,涂层中的Co基体受液锌腐蚀生成Co5Zn21化合物,涂层开始遭到破坏;经过15天浸锌试验后,部分锌液穿过涂层与基体中的Fe化合生成FeZn13(即锌渣),涂层局部开始脱落,涂层失效开始。     

On the gas dynamics of HVOF thermal sprays

An experimental study of the gas-dynamic aspects of the high-velocity oxyfuel (HVOF) thermal spray process has been performed using commercially available HVOF equipment (Hobart-Tafa JP-5000, Ho-bart-Tafa Technologies, Inc., Concord, NH). Optical diagnostic techniques, including microsecond-expo-sure schlieren and shadowgraph imaging, were applied to visualize the hot supersonic jet produced by this equipment without particle injection. Rapid turbulent mixing of the jet with the surrounding atmos-phere was observed, which is an issue of concern in coating quality due to the possibility of oxidation of sprayed particles. This mixing appears to be a function of the ratio of densities of the hot jet and the cold atmosphere as well as a function of the velocity of the jet, rather than one of combustion-chamber pres-sure or barrel length. The supersonic core of the HVOF jet dissipates rapidly due to the mixing, so that the jet is no longer supersonic when it impinges on the target surface being sprayed. Secondary issues also observed in this study include strong jet-noise radiation from the HVOF plume and the entrainment and induced bulk motion of the surrounding air.     

Design of Experiment Analysis of the Sulzer Metco DJ High Velocity Oxy-Fuel Coating of Hydroxyapatite for Orthopedic Applications

High Velocity Oxy-Fuel (HVOF) has the potential to produce hydroxyapatite (HA; Bio-ceramic) coatings based on its experience with other sprayed ceramic materials. This technique should offer mechanical and biological results comparable to other thermal spraying processes, such as atmospheric plasma thermal spray, currently FDA approved for HA deposition. Deposition of HA via HVOF is a new venture especially using the Sulzer Metco Diamond Jet (DJ) process, and the aim of this article was to establish this technique's potential in providing superior HA coating results compared to the FDA-approved plasma spray technique. In this research, a Design of Experiment (DOE) model was developed to optimize the Sulzer Metco DJ HVOF process for the deposition of HA. In order to select suitable ranges for the production of HA coatings, the parameters were first investigated. Five parameters (factors) were researched over two levels namely: oxygen flow rate, propylene flow rate, air flow rate, spray distance, and powder flow rate. Coating crystallinity and purity were measured at the surface of each sample as the responses to the factors used. The research showed that propylene, air flow rate, spray distance, and powder feed rate had the largest effect on the responses, and the study aimed to find the preferred optimized settings to achieve high crystallinity and purity of percentages of up to 95%. This research found crystallinity and purity values of 93.8 and 99.8%, respectively, for a set of HVOF parameters which showed improvement compared to the crystallinity and purity values of 87.6 and 99.4%, respectively, found using the FDA-approved Sulzer Metco Atmospheric Plasma thermal spray process. Hence, a new technique for HA deposition now exists using the DJ HVOF facility; however, other mechanical and biorelated properties must also be assessed.     

Influence of Grit Blasting on the Roughness and the Bond Strength of Detonation Sprayed Coating

The process of roughening the surfaces by grit blasting prior to coating them using thermal spray techniques is very important to obtain consistently high tensile bond strength between the coating and the substrate. The available literature on the influence of grit-blasting parameters in the case of detonation spray or HVOF coatings is quite limited. The present study aims to study the influence of grit-blasting pressure and alumina grit size on the roughening of the mild steel substrate, the resulting effect on the roughness of Cu, Al₂O₃, and WC-12Co coatings deposited by detonation spray coating and also on the tensile bond strengths of these coatings. Toward the above purpose, the velocity of the alumina grits have been experimentally measured using a high-speed imaging system and the tensile bond strength of the coatings have been experimentally obtained using the pin type test. The results from the above experiments point to the importance of not only the roughness of the grit-blasted mild steel substrate but also the roughness of the coatings subsequently deposited in determining the magnitude of the bond strength.