Effect of Spray Particle Velocity on Cavitation Erosion Resistance Characteristics of HVOF and HVAF Processed 86WC-10Co4Cr Hydro Turbine Coatings

The hydro plants utilizing silt-laden water for power generation suffer from severe metal wastage due to particle-induced erosion and cavitation. High-velocity oxy-fuel process (HVOF)-based coatings is widely applied to improve the erosion life. The process parameters such as particle velocity, size, powder feed rate, temperature, affect their mechanical properties. The high-velocity air fuel (HVAF) technology, with higher particle velocities and lower spray temperatures, gives dense and substantially nonoxidized coating. In the present study, the cavitation resistance of 86WC-10Co4Cr-type HVOF coating processed at 680 m/s spray particle velocity was compared with HVAF coatings made at 895, 960, and 1010 m/s. The properties such as porosity, hardness, indentation toughness, and cavitation resistance were investigated. The surface damage morphology has been analyzed in SEM. The cohesion between different layers has been examined qualitatively through scratch depth measurements across the cross section. The HVAF coatings have shown a lower porosity, higher hardness, and superior cavitation resistance. Delamination, extensive cracking of the matrix interface, and detachment of the WC grains were observed in HVOF coating. The rate of metal loss is low in HVAF coatings implying that process parameters play a vital role in achieving improved cavitation resistance.     

Study of structure and corrosion resistance of Fe-based amorphous coatings prepared by HVAF and HVOF

Fe-based amorphous coatings with a composition of Fe_49.7Cr₁₈Mn_1.9Mo_7.4W_1.6B_15.2C_3.8Si_2.4 have been prepared on a mild steel substrate by High velocity air fuel (HVAF) and High velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) processes. The microstructure and corrosion resistance in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution of the coatings prepared by the two processes were comparatively studied. It was found that the two coatings exhibit dense structure with the porosity of 0.4% and compact bonding with the substrate. However, HVOF coating contains higher oxygen content than HVAF coating, resulting from the formation of significant oxide contours between the partially melted particles in HVOF process. Electrochemical polarization tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis indicate that the HVAF coating has better corrosion resistance than the HVOF coating. The preferential corrosion along the oxide contours thus providing efficient diffusion channels for electrolyte accounts for the poor corrosion resistance in HVOF coating. The present results demonstrate that HVAF with less cost can be a promising spray process to fabricate the Fe-based amorphous coating for industrial applications.     

Microstructure and Sliding Wear Behavior of Fe-Based Coatings Manufactured with HVOF and HVAF Thermal Spray Processes

The microstructure and micromechanical behavior of thermally sprayed Fe-based coatings manufactured with high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) and high-velocity air fuel (HVAF) processes were investigated. Fe-Cr-Ni-Si-B-C and Fe-Cr-Ni-Mo-Si-B-C powders were used as the feedstock materials. The coatings showed a highly dense microstructure with near-zero oxidation. The microstructure of the feedstock powders was better retained when sprayed with HVAF process. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed two small exothermic peaks at about 600 °C for the HVOF-sprayed coatings, without any increase in weight in thermogravimetric analysis. It suggested the re-precipitation of carbides that were dissolved during spraying due to the higher particle temperature reported by spray diagnostics system during the HVOF process (≈1800 °C) compared to the HVAF one (≈1400 °C). Micro- and nano-indentations helped to show the difference in inter-lamellar cohesive strength and, in turn, in the particle deposition mechanism. Coatings sprayed with Fe-Cr-Ni-Mo-Si-B-C composition possessed higher sliding wear resistance than that of Fe-Cr-Ni-Si-B-C due to higher nano-hardness. More specifically, HVOF-sprayed Fe-Cr-Ni-Mo-Si-B-C coating showed the largest intra-lamellar hardness, the largest elasticity, and high quality of particle interfaces which resulted in lower sliding wear rate.     

Effect of Spray Parameters on the Corrosion Behavior of HVOF Sprayed WC-Co-Cr Coatings

WC-10Co-4Cr cermet coatings were deposited on the substrate of AISI 1045 steel by using high-velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF) thermal spraying process. The Taguchi method including the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to optimize the porosity and, in turn, the corrosion resistance of the coatings. The spray parameters evaluated in this study were spray distance, oxygen flow, and kerosene flow. The results indicated that the important sequence of spray parameters on the porosity of the coatings was spray distance > oxygen flow > kerosene flow, and the spray distance was the only significant factor. The optimum spraying condition was 300 mm for the spray distance, 1900 scfh for the oxygen flow, and 6.0 gph for the kerosene flow. The results showed the significant influence of the microstructure on the corrosion resistance of the coatings. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impendence spectroscopy (EIS) results showed that the WC-10Co-4Cr cermet coating obtained by the optimum spraying condition with the lowest porosity exhibits the best corrosion resistance and seems to be an alternative to hard chromium coating.     

Down-selection and optimization of thermal-sprayed coatings for aluminum mould tool protection and upgrade

This article details the down-selection procedure for thermally sprayed coatings for aluminum injection mould tooling. A down-selection metric was used to rank a wide range of coatings. A range of high-velocity oxyfuel (HVOF) and atmospheric plasma spray (APS) systems was used to identify the optimal coating-process-system combinations. Three coatings were identified as suitable for further study; two CrC NiCr materials and one Fe Ni Cr alloy. No APS-deposited coatings were suitable for the intended application due to poor substrate adhesion (SA) and very high surface roughness (SR). The DJ2700 deposited coating properties were inferior to the coatings deposited using other HVOF systems and thus a Taguchi L18 five parameter, three-level optimization was used to optimize SA of CRC-1 and FE-1. Significant mean increases in bond strength were achieved (147±30% for FE-1 [58±4 MPa] and 12±1% for CRC-1 [67±5 MPa]). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that the coating bond strengths were primarily dependent on powder flow rate and propane gas flow rate, and also secondarily dependent on spray distance. The optimal deposition parameters identified were: (CRC-1/FE-1) O₂ 264/264 standard liters per minute (SLPM); C₃H₈ 62/73 SLPM; air 332/311 SLPM; feed rate 30/28 g/min; and spray distance 150/206 mm.     

Microstructural Evolution of NiCoCrAlHfYSi and NiCoCrAlTaY Coatings Deposited by AC-HVAF and APS

The chemical composition of NiCoCrAlHfYSi with a suitable particle size, deposited using an activated combustion-high velocity air fuel (AC-HVAF) spray, is a potentially promising process because dense, continuous and pure alumina can be formed on the surface of the MCrAlY metallic coatings after isothermal oxidation exposure. The NiCoCrAlHfYSi (Amdry386) and NiCoCrAlTaY (Amdry997) coatings were produced using AC-HVAF and APS, respectively. Isothermal oxidation was subsequently conducted at 1050 °C in air for 200 h. This paper compares the characteristics of four coated samples, including the surface roughness, elastic modulus, hardness, oxide content, microstructural characteristics and phase evolution of thermally grown oxides (TGO). The growth of both the TGO and alumina scales in the TGO of the HVAF386 coating was relatively rapid. The θ- to α-alumina phase transformation was strongly determined by the Hf and Si dopants in the HVAF386 coating. Finally, the extent of grain refinement and deformation storage energy in the HVAF997 coatings were determined to be significantly crucial for the θ- to α-alumina phase transformation.     

等离子喷涂与超音速火焰喷涂NiCr-Cr3C2涂层组织与摩擦磨损性能研究

目的 研究等离子喷涂与超音速火焰喷涂NiCr-Cr3C2涂层的组织、力学性能和摩擦磨损性能。方法 采用等离子喷涂与超音速火焰喷涂工艺制备NiCr-Cr3C2涂层,并采用X射线衍射仪（XRD）、扫描电镜（SEM）、万能试验机、显微硬度计和高速往复摩擦磨损试验机,系统地分析了两种工艺所得涂层的物相、组织、结合强度、硬度及摩擦磨损性能。结果 两种工艺制备的NiCr-Cr3C2涂层与基体界面结合效果良好。等离子喷涂NiCr-Cr3C2涂层为层片状组织,层间可见微裂纹,孔隙率较高;超音速火焰喷涂NiCr-Cr3C2涂层组织均匀,无明显微裂纹,可见少量微小孔隙。物相分析表明,等离子喷涂涂层由NiCr、Cr3C2和Cr7C3相组成,而超音速火焰喷涂涂层由NiCr和Cr3C2相组成。超音速火焰喷涂NiCr-Cr3C2涂层的耐磨性优于等离子喷涂涂层,等离子喷涂涂层和超音速火焰喷涂涂层的稳态摩擦系数分别为0.4和0.6。随载荷升高,两种工艺制备的NiCr-Cr3C2涂层摩擦系数均显著下降。磨损后,等离子喷涂NiCr-Cr3C2涂层表面具有明显的凹痕和剥落,而超音速火焰喷涂NiCr-Cr3C2涂层磨痕表面较光滑,未见明显剥落。两种工艺制备的涂层磨损机制均为磨粒磨损和疲劳磨损。结论 超音速火焰喷涂NiCr-Cr3C2涂层较等离子喷涂涂层组织更为致密,具有更为优良的综合力学性能和耐磨性,等离子喷涂制备的NiCr-Cr3C2涂层的减摩性较好。     

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.     

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.     

HVOF Combustion spraying of inconel powder

A major trend in the thermal spray industry has been to increase the gas jet velocity to obtain better coating attributes. One emerging technology now used in industry is the high-velocity oxygen fuel process (HVOF). High-velocity spray guns combine oxygen and a fuel gas to generate heat and extremely high particle velocities. In this study, Inconel 718 powder was deposited on steel substrates. The primary coating function was electrical resistivity for a heater application. Experiments were conducted using a Taguchi L8 statistical fractional/factorial design parametric study. The Taguchi experiment evaluated the effect of six HVOF processing variables on the measured responses. The parameters were oxygen flow, fuel flow, air envelope gas flow, powder feed rate, spray distance, and nozzle configuration. The coatings were characterized by hardness tests, surface profilometry, optical metallography, and image analysis. This article investigates coating hardness, porosity, surface roughness, deposition efficiency, and microstructure with respect to the influence of the processing parameters. Analytical studies were conducted to investigate gas, particle, and coating dynamics for two of the HVOF thermal spray experiments.     

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.     

Corrosion Behavior of an Abradable Seal Coating System

A novel NiTi/BN composite abradable coating and two traditional Ni/C and Ni/BN coatings were manufactured with NiAl as the bond layer using thermal spray technology and their corrosion behaviors were investigated. In salt spray corrosion testing of the Ni/BN coating, defective sites of the metal matrix were corroded preferentially. Simulated occlusion experiments and electrochemical tests indicated that migration of ions resulted in pH decrease and Cl^? enrichment in defects, and a more aggressive electrolyte led to a decrease of the corrosion potential of the metal inside defects but an increase of the corrosion current density, representing an autocatalytic corrosion process. Moreover, galvanic corrosion between the top and bond coatings of the abradable system was studied via the electrochemical technique. The results showed that, for the NiTi/BN, Ni/BN, and Ni/graphite coatings with a NiAl bond coating, current flow was generated between the anode and cathode. The NiTi/BN coating acted as the cathode due to its passivation, while the Ni/BN and Ni/graphite coatings acted as the anode because of their lower corrosion potential compared with the NiAl coating. The anode suffered serious corrosion damage due to galvanic corrosion, while the cathode corroded only slightly.     

Corrosion behavior of HVOF-sprayed and Nd-YAG laser-remelted high-chromium,nickel-chromium coatings

Thermal spray processes are widely used to deposit high-chromium, nickel-chromium coatings to improve high temperature oxidation and corrosion behavior. However, despite the efforts made to improve the present spraying techniques, such as high-velocity oxyfuel (HVOF) and plasma spraying, these coatings may still exhibit certain defects, such as unmelted particles, oxide layers at splat boundaries, porosity, and cracks, which are detrimental to corrosion performance in severe operating conditions. Because of the process temperature, only mechanical bonding is obtained between the coating and substrate. Laser remelting of the sprayed coatings was studied in order to overcome the drawbacks of sprayed structures and to markedly improve the coating properties. The coating material was high-chromium, nickel-chromium alloy, which contains small amounts of molybdenum and boron (53.3% Cr, 42.5% Ni, 2.5% Mo, 0.5% B). The coatings were prepared by HVOF spraying onto mild steel substrates. A high-power, fiber-coupled, continuous-wave Nd:YAG laser equipped with large beam optics was used to remelt the HVOF-sprayed coating using different levels of scanning speed and beam width (10 or 20 mm). Coating that was remelted with the highest traverse speed suffered from cracking because of the rapid solidification inherent to laser processing. However, after the appropriate laser parameters were chosen, nonporous, crack-free coatings with minimal dilution between coating and substrate were produced. Laser remelting resulted in the formation of a dense oxide layer on top of the coatings and full homogenization of the sprayed structure. The coatings as sprayed and after laser remelting were characterized by optical and electron microscopy (OM, SEM, respectively). Dilution between coating and substrate was studied with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). The properties of the laser-remelted coatings were directly compared with properties of as-sprayed HVOF coatings.     

喷涂工艺参数对热喷涂纳米镍铬碳化钨涂层微动磨损性能的影响

以纳米NiCr/WC复合粉末(其中70%的WC与30%的NiCr)(文中含量均为质量分数)为原料,采用活性燃烧超音速火焰喷涂技术制备了纳米NiCr/WC复合涂层。利用SRV高温磨损试验机进行微动磨损试验,结果显示,在其它工艺参数相同的条件下,纳米涂层在喷涂距离为200 mm条件下的耐磨性能最差,在喷涂距离为160 mm条件下的耐磨性能最好;纳米涂层在送粉率为5 rpm条件下的耐磨性能最差,在送粉率为15 rpm条件下的耐磨性能最好。此外,与综合性能优良的渗碳轴承钢20CrNi2Mo相比,所有的纳米涂层的耐磨损性能都明显优于相同温度条件下的轴承钢的耐磨损性能。     

Fireside Corrosion Behavior of HVOF and Plasma-Sprayed Coatings in Advanced Coal/Biomass Co-Fired Power Plants

This article presents a systematic evaluation of coatings for advanced fossil fuel plants and addresses fireside corrosion in coal/biomass-derived flue gases. A selection of four candidate coatings: alloy 625, NiCr, FeCrAl and NiCrAlY were deposited onto superheaters/reheaters alloy (T91) using high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) and plasma spraying. A series of laboratory-based fireside corrosion exposures were carried out on these coated samples in furnaces under controlled atmosphere for 1000 h at 650 °C. The tests were carried out using the “deposit-recoat” test method to simulate the environment that was anticipated from air-firing 20 wt.% cereal co-product mixed with a UK coal. The exposures were carried out using a deposit containing Na₂SO₄, K₂SO₄, and Fe₂O₃ to produce alkali-iron tri-sulfates, which had been identified as the principal cause of fireside corrosion on superheaters/reheaters in pulverized coal-fired power plants. The exposed samples were examined in an ESEM with EDX analysis to characterize the damage. Pre- and post-exposure dimensional metrologies were used to quantify the metal damage in terms of metal loss distributions. The thermally sprayed coatings suffered significant corrosion attack from a combination of aggressive combustion gases and deposit mixtures. In this study, all the four plasma-sprayed coatings studied performed better than the HVOF-sprayed coatings because of a lower level of porosity. NiCr was found to be the best performing coating material with a median metal loss of ~87 μm (HVOF sprayed) and ~13 μm (plasma sprayed). In general, the median metal damage for coatings had the following ranking (in the descending order: most to the least damage): NiCrAlY > alloy 625 > FeCrAl > NiCr.     

Wear,erosion and corrosion resistance of HVOF-sprayed WC and Cr3C2 based coatings for electrolytic hard chrome replacement

Thermally sprayed carbide-based coatings are nowadays extensively considered as an alternative to electrolytic hard chrome (EHC) coatings to reduce the environmental impact and the overall cost associated with EHC process. In this investigation, high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spray process was employed to prepare coatings using the traditional carbide powders namely the WC-10Co4Cr, the Cr₃C₂-25NiCr and a new type of mixed carbide powder WC-40Cr₃C₂-25NiCr. The Powder deposition rate, basic mechanical properties, abrasive wear, slurry erosion and corrosion resistance of the three coatings were then compared with the EHC coating. The results show that WC-10Co4Cr coating exhibited the highest hardness, abrasive wear and slurry erosion resistance followed by WC-40Cr₃C₂-25NiCr, EHC, and Cr₃C₂-25NiCr coating. The deposition efficiency of the powders as per hierarchy was found to be WC-40Cr₃C₂-25NiCr > WC-10Co4Cr > Cr₃C₂-25NiCr and all the HVOF sprayed coatings exhibited higher corrosion resistance than EHC coating. The highest powder deposition efficiency coupled with low density, acceptable tribo-corrosion performance, as well as low post processing cost makes the HVOF sprayed WC-40Cr₃C₂-25NiCr coating a potential candidate to replace the EHC coating.     

The role of microstructure in the mechanism of high velocity erosion of Cr3C2-NiCr thermal spray coatings: Part 1 — As-sprayed coatings

Carbide based thermal spray coatings are routinely applied to mitigate erosion under industrial conditions. However, the mechanism of erosion response under aggressive high velocity impact conditions remains unclear. In this work Cr₃C₂-25%NiCr thermal spray coatings were eroded at an impact velocity of 150 m/s by 20-25 µm alumina grit. Coatings were deposited by High Velocity Air Fuel (HVAF) and High Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) thermal spray techniques to generate a range of coating quality spanning that applied industrially. In Part 1 of this two-part series, the mechanism of erosion as a function of coating composition and microstructure variation is discussed. The HVOF coating underwent significant in-flight dissolution of the carbide phase. The erosion response of the supersaturated NiCr matrix was characterised by brittle cracking and fracture. The HVAF coating retained a high carbide content with minimal phase dissolution. However, the rapid solidification of the matrix material made the coating prone to brittle interphase cracking during impact. On a larger scale, splat based erosion mechanisms played a significant role, especially in the HVOF coating. The mechanisms of impact response of these coatings were dependent upon the depth of erodent penetration and could not, therefore, be extrapolated from erosion testing at lower velocities.     

铝合金异形曲面热喷涂涂层的制备及性能研究

采用大气等离子喷涂（APS）（液态CO2气化冷却和未冷却）和超音速火焰喷涂（HVOF）,在模拟加力泵涡壳的异形铝合金工件内曲面,制备了耐气蚀性较好的3种涂层,并考察涂层和异形曲面基体的结合情况及涂层的相组成、显微硬度和孔隙率。结果表明：HVOF在其焰流无法垂直喷涂的部位涂层与基体结合较差;未使用CO2冷却的APS涂层卷曲,涂层中有明显裂纹;使用CO2冷却的APS涂层与基体结合良好,涂层中没有裂纹,该工艺是目前在铝合金异形曲面制备热喷涂涂层的有效途径。     

Deposition of HVAF-sprayed Ni-based amorphous metallic coatings

Ni₅₃Nb₂₀Ti₁₀Zr₈Co₆Cu₃ (at.%) amorphous alloy with high glass forming ability (GFA), capable of forming a wholly amorphous rod of 3 mm diameter by casting, was adopted to deposit amorphous metallic coatings by high velocity air fuel (HVAF) thermal spraying. The effects of powder feed rate and spraying distance on amorphous phase content and porosity of the coatings were investigated. It was indicated that an appropriate powder feed rate was desirable to produce a coating with high amorphous fraction, whereas a larger spraying distance led to a more dense coating. The corrosion resistance of the sprayed coatings was also examined in 1 M HCl aqueous solution.     

Influence of the Spray Angle on the Properties of HVOF Sprayed WC–Co Coatings Using (−10 + 2 μm) Fine Powders

The application of fine powders in thermal spray technology represents an innovative approach to apply dense and smooth near-net shape coatings on tools with complex geometry. However, this aim can only be achieved as long as the influence of the handling parameters of the spray process, such as the spray angle, is sufficiently understood. In this study, the influence of the spray angle on the deposition rate as well as on the coating properties (microhardness, roughness, and porosity) of HVOF-sprayed, fine-structured coatings are investigated. A fine, agglomerated, and sintered WC-12Co powder (agglomerate size: 2-10 μm, WC-particle Fisher sub-sieve size = 400 nm) was used as feedstock material. It has been shown that HVOF spraying of fine powders is less susceptible to an alteration of the spray angle than most other thermal spray processes such as plasma- or arc-spraying. The reduction of the spray angle results in a decrease in the deposition rate, while no significant degradation of the coating properties is found up to 30°. However, at spray angles below 30° the coating strength is negatively affected by the formation of pores and cracks.