Effect of the Cold-Sprayed Aluminum Coating-Substrate Interface Morphology on Bond Strength for Aircraft Repair Application

This article is dealing with the effects of surface preparation of the substrate on aluminum cold-sprayed coating bond strength. Different sets of AA2024-T3 specimens have been coated with pure Al 1050 feedstock powder, using a conventional cold spray coating technique. The sets were grit-blasted (GB) before coating. The study focuses on substrate surface topography evolution before coating and coating-substrate interface morphology after coating. To study coating adhesion by LASAT^® technique for each set, specimens with and without preceding GB treatment were tested in load-controlled conditions. Then, several techniques were used to evaluate the effects of substrate surface treatment on the final coating mechanical properties. Irregularities induced by the GB treatment modify significantly the interface morphology. Results showed that particle anchoring was improved dramatically by the presence of craters. The substrate surface was characterized by numerous anchors. Numerical simulation results exhibited the increasing deformation of particle onto the grit-blasted surface. In addition, results showed a strong relationship between the coating-substrate bond strength on the deposited material and surface preparation.     

Fatigue behavior of a SAE 1045 steel coated with Colmonoy 88 alloy deposited by HVOF thermal spray

An investigation has been conducted in order to study the fatigue behavior of a SAE 1045 steel substrate coated with a Ni-base alloy known commercially as Colmonoy 88, deposited by HVOF spray technique. Fatigue tests were conducted under axial conditions (R = 0.1), employing samples of the substrate material in the as-polished condition, after grit blasting with alumina particles and after grit blasting and coating with a deposit of about 250 μm thick. The fatigue tests were conducted at maximum stresses in the range of 380-533 MPa, depending on the condition of the material. A detailed fractographic analysis of some selected samples tested at different stresses was carried out, aimed mainly at determining the crack nucleation and propagation sequence. The results indicate that the deposition of such a coating leads to a fatigue strength debit of the substrate in the range of 10-20% and a similar debit in fatigue limit of ∼ 11-13%. It has been found that grit blasting is the process responsible for the fatigue strength debit observed in the coated samples. Fatigue cracks have been observed to initiate at the substrate-coating interface and at the free surface of the coating, mainly close to alumina particles embedded on the substrate and sharp notches produced during the process. The fractographic analysis of the fracture surface of the coated specimens points out the characteristic heterogeneous nature of the coating, particularly regarding some of its mechanical properties, such as fracture toughness.     

Residual stress development in cold sprayed Al,Cu and Ti coatings

Residual stresses play an important role in the formation and performance of thermal spray coatings. A curvature-based approach where the substrate–coating system deflection and temperature are monitored throughout the coating deposition process was used to determine residual stress formation during cold spray deposition of Al, Cu and Ti coatings. The effect of substrate material (carbon steel, stainless steel and aluminium) and substrate pre-treatment (normal grit blasting, grit blasting with the cold spray system and grinding for carbon steel substrate) were studied for all coating materials with optimized deposition parameters. Mainly compressive stresses were expected because of the nature of cold spraying, but also neutral as well as tensile stresses were formed for studied coatings. The magnitudes of the residual stresses were mainly dependent on the substrate/coating material combination, but the surface preparation was also found to have an effect on the final stress stage of the coating.     

Production of Annealed Cold-Sprayed 316L Stainless Steel Coatings for Biomedical Applications and Their in-vitro Corrosion Response

316L powders were successfully deposited onto Al5052 aluminium substrates by cold spray method. Annealing was treated on the coated samples at 250–1000°C temperatures under Ar atmosphere. The in vitro performances of the coatings have been compared with using electrochemical corrosion test technique in the simulated body fluid (SBF) at body temperature (37°C). A scanning electron microscope (SEM-EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) have been used for microstructural characterization and phases identifications of the coatings, respectively. The results were shown that there are high adhesions at particle and substrate interfaces and between the particles deposited as well. Also, the increasing annealing temperature increases corrosion resistance of the cold sprayed 316L stainless steel coatings. The corrosion susceptibility of the coating annealed at 1000°C was similar that of standard 316L stainless steel implant material in Ringer’s solution. The microstructural observations revealed that corrosion starts between the inter-splat powders and continues throughout the surface not in-depth.     

The effect of residual stress in HVOF tungsten carbide coatings on the fatigue life in bending of thermal spray coated aluminum

One factor that affects the suitability of tungsten carbide (WC) coatings for wear and corrosion control applications is the fatigue life of the coated part. Coatings, whether anodized or thermal spray coated, can reduce the fatigue life of a part compared to an uncoated part. This study compares the fatigue life of uncoated and thermal spray coated 6061 Al specimens. The relation between the residual stress level in the coating and the fatigue life of the specimen is investigated. Cyclic bending tests were performed on flat, cantilever beam specimens. Applied loads placed the coating in tension. Residual stress levels for each of the coating types were determined experimentally using the modified layer removal method. Test results show that the fatigue life of WC coated specimens is directly related to the level of compressive residual stress in the coating. In some cases, the fatigue life can be increased by a factor of 35 by increasing the compressive residual stress in the coating.     

Influences of Processing and Fatigue Cycling on Residual Stresses in a NiCrY-Coated Powder Metallurgy Disk Superalloy

Oxidation and corrosion can attack superalloy disk surfaces exposed to increasing operating temperatures in some turbine engine environments. Any potential protective coatings must also be resistant to harmful fatigue cracking during service. The objective of this study was to investigate how residual stresses evolve in one such coating. Fatigue specimens of a powder metallurgy-processed disk superalloy were coated with a NiCrY coating, shot peened, and then subjected to fatigue in air at room and high temperatures. The effects of this processing and fatigue cycling on axial residual stresses and other aspects of the coating were assessed. While shot peening did induce beneficial compressive residual stresses in the coating and substrate, these stresses relaxed in the coating with subsequent heating. Several cast alloys having compositions near the coating were subjected to thermal expansion and tensile stress relaxation tests to help explain this response of residual stresses in the coating. For the coated fatigue specimens, this response contributed to earlier cracking of the coating than for the uncoated surface during long intervals of cycling at 760 °C. Yet, substantial compressive residual stresses still remained in the substrate adjacent to the coating, which were sufficient to suppress fatigue cracking there. The coating continued to protect the substrate from hot corrosion pitting, even after fatigue cracks initiated in the coating.     

涂覆WC-17Co涂层的Ni718合金在不同环境温度中的疲劳性能

利用超音速火焰喷涂技术在Ni718合金表面制备WC-17Co涂层.利用反复弯曲试验分析25,150,300℃条件下涂覆WC-17Co涂层Ni718合金疲劳性能,利用扫描电镜、X射线衍射仪分析涂层的断口形貌和相组成,并利用剥层法测量涂层中残余应力分布.结果表明,相同应变量条件下试样的疲劳寿命随着温度的升高而降低;循环载荷作用下裂纹由涂层表面产生,向基体方向扩展,最终形成整体断裂;室温至300℃温度范围内,涂层不会发生相变,但是随环境温度上升涂层中的残余压应力呈现下降趋势,这种趋势使得涂层中裂纹的扩展速度增加,最终导致疲劳寿命下降.     

残余应力对涂覆WC-17Co涂层的Ni718合金弯曲疲劳寿命的影响

利用超音速火焰喷涂技术在Ni718合金表面制备WC-17Co涂层,对喷涂后的试样进行150℃? h 和300℃? h 保温热处理,利用Almen试片曲率法计算不同热处理条件下涂层中的残余应力,利用反复弯曲试验测试试样的疲劳寿命,分析残余应力对试样疲劳寿命的影响。结果表明在疲劳循环过程中,裂纹在涂层中萌生并向涂层/基体界面处扩展,最后扩展至基体内部形成最终断裂。涂层中的残余压应力能够抑制疲劳裂纹的产生和扩展。当经过保温处理后涂层中的残余压应力降低,导致试样的疲劳寿命随热处理的温度上升而下降。     

Influence of microarc oxidation and hard anodizing on plain fatigue and fretting fatigue behaviour of Al-Mg-Si alloy

The present study compares the performance of microarc oxidation (MAO) and hard anodizing (HA) treated Al-Mg-Si alloy (AA6063) test samples under cyclic loading in uniaxial tension with a stress ratio of 0.1 (plain fatigue) and fretting fatigue loading. Fatigue test specimens were treated using MAO and HA techniques. MAO coated specimens were ground to reduce the surface roughness comparable with that in HA coated specimens. In that process the porous outer layer was removed. Characterization of coated and uncoated specimens was done with reference to the coating morphology, microhardness, surface roughness and residual stress. The specimens were tested under plain fatigue and fretting fatigue loading at ambient temperature. While the ground MAO coating exhibited relatively less amount of porosity, HA coating had through thickness cracks. MAO coating had compressive residual stress and it was very hard compared with HA coating. Both types of coated samples exhibited slightly higher friction force than that experienced by the uncoated specimens. Fretted region of the HA coated samples was rougher than that of the MAO coated specimens. Plain fatigue lives of both coated samples were inferior to those of the uncoated specimens. The inferior plain fatigue lives of MAO coated specimens compared with those of the substrate may be attributed to the tensile residual stresses supposedly present in the substrate leading to an early crack initiation in the substrate adjacent to the coating. As friction force of MAO coated samples was higher than that experienced by uncoated specimens, the fretting fatigue lives of MAO coated samples were slightly inferior to those of uncoated samples. As the anodized layer had preexisting through thickness cracks and strong adhesion with the substrate, cracks propagated from HA coating through the interface into the substrate easily. This may be the reason for the HA coated samples exhibiting inferior plain fatigue and fretting fatigue lives compared with MAO coated and uncoated samples.     

Influence of Substrate Material on Plain Fatigue and Fretting Fatigue Behavior of Detonation Gun Sprayed Cu-Ni-In Coating

Cu-Ni-In coating was formulated on two substrate materials—Ti-alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) and Al-alloy (AA 6063) fatigue test specimens using detonation gun (D-gun) spray process. Coating on both substrates was dense with low porosity, high hardness, and high surface roughness. Relatively higher surface compressive residual stress was present at the coating on Ti-alloy specimens. In case of the coating on Al-alloy samples, tensile residual stress was also present in some places. Uniaxial plain fatigue and fretting fatigue experiments were conducted on uncoated and coated specimens. The detrimental effect of life reduction due to fretting was relatively larger in the Al-alloy compared to the Ti-alloy. While Cu-Ni-In coating was found to be beneficial on the Ti-alloy, it was deleterious on the Al-alloy substrate under both plain fatigue and fretting fatigue loading. The results were explained in terms of differences in the values of surface hardness, surface roughness, surface residual stress, and friction stress.     

Fatigue and corrosion fatigue behavior of an AA6063-T6 aluminum alloy coated with a WC-10Co-4Cr alloy deposited by HVOF thermal spraying

The present investigation has been conducted in order to study the fatigue and corrosion fatigue behavior of an AA6063-T6 aluminum alloy substrate coated with a WC-10Co-4Cr deposited by HVOF thermal spraying. It has been determined that the deposition of such a coating on the aluminum substrate gives rise to significant gains in fatigue life in comparison with the uncoated substrate, when testing is carried out both in air and in a 3 wt.% NaCl solution. It has been shown that during testing in air, the fatigue gain ranges between ~ 540 and 4300%, depending on the maximum alternating stress applied to the material. Larger fatigue gains are associated with low alternating stresses. Also, when fatigue testing is conducted in the NaCl solution, the gain in fatigue resistance varies between ~ 620 and 1460%. Fatigue cracks have been observed to initiate at the coating surface and then grow towards the substrate after propagating through the entire coating thickness. Crack growth along the coating has been observed to occur mainly along the regions formed by the agglomeration of W and W-Co-Cr-rich particles, flanking the tougher Co-Cr-rich areas. Although in the present work residual stresses were not measured, it is believed that the gain in fatigue life of the coating-substrate system is due to the presence of compressive residual stresses within the coating which hinder fatigue crack propagation. The deposition of the coating does not give rise to significant changes in the static mechanical properties and hardness of the aluminum alloy substrate. It has been observed that the WC-10Co-4Cr coating displays a significant indentation size effect and has a mean hardness of ~ 9.4 GPa.     

Fatigue performance of a SAE 1045 steel coated with a Colmonoy 88 alloy deposited by HVOF thermal spraying

The present investigation has been conducted to study the fatigue behavior of a SAE 1045 steel both uncoated and coated with a Colmonoy 88 alloy (NiCrBSiW) of approximately 410 μm thick, deposited by HVOF thermal spraying. Previously to deposition the samples were grit-blasted with alumina particles of approximately 1 mm in equivalent diameter. Tensile and fatigue tests were carried out with the uncoated and coated specimens. Fatigue tests were conducted under rotating bending conditions (R = − 1) at a frequency of 50 Hz. The samples tested were in three different surface conditions, including polished, grit-blasted and coated. The fatigue limit was determined by means of the staircase method employing a stress step of 5 MPa. The results indicate that the presence of the coating gives rise to a reduction in the fatigue life of the coated samples tested in air in comparison with the uncoated specimens. On the contrary, when the coated samples were tested in a NaCl solution at alternating stresses less than 350 MPa, these showed an increase in fatigue life in comparison with the polished uncoated samples. The analysis of the fracture surfaces of the specimens tested in air revealed that alumina particles present on the surface of the grit-blasted samples acted as stress concentrators, inducing the nucleation of fatigue cracks at the substrate-coating interface, which explains the reduction in fatigue life. However, under corrosive conditions and low alternating stresses, the presence of the coating provides an effective protection against corrosion-fatigue failures, giving rise to an improvement of the corrosion-fatigue performance of the coated system. On the contrary, at elevated alternating stresses, the coating was observed to delaminate from the substrate, leading to an impairment of the corrosion-fatigue behavior of the coated samples.     

Mechanical Performance of Cold-Sprayed A357 Aluminum Alloy Coatings for Repair and Additive Manufacturing

Cold-sprayed coatings made of A357 aluminum alloy, a casting alloy widely used in aerospace, underwent set of standard tests as well as newly developed fatigue test to gain an information about potential of cold spray for repair and additive manufacturing of loaded parts. With optimal spray parameters, coating deposition on substrate with smooth surface resulted in relatively good bonding, which can be further improved by application of grit blasting on substrate’s surface. However, no enhancement of adhesion was obtained for shot-peened surface. Process temperature, which was set either to 450 or 550 °C, was shown to have an effect on adhesion and cohesion strength, but it does not influence residual stress in the coating. To assess cold spray perspectives for additive manufacturing, flat tensile specimens were machined from coating and tested in as-sprayed and heat-treated (solution treatment and aging) condition. Tensile properties of the coating after the treatment correspond to properties of the cast A357-T61 aluminum alloy. Finally, fatigue specimen was proposed to test overall performance of the coating and coating’s fatigue limit is compared to the results obtained on cast A357-T61 aluminum alloy.     

Young’s modulus and fatigue behavior of plasma-sprayed alumina coatings

The fatigue behavior and Young’s modulus of plasma-sprayed gray alumina on low-carbon steel substrates were investigated. The investigation of the properties of composites that were defined as “coating-substrate” composites included measurements of the microhardness profile, the residual stress on the top of the coating, and the residual stress profile in the substrate. Fatigue samples were periodically loaded as a cantilever beam on a special testing machine. Failed samples were observed with a scanning electron microscope to determine the failure processes in the coating. The Young’s modulus of the coating was measured by the four-point bending method. Samples were tested both in tension and compression under low (300 N) and high (800 N) loads. The authors’ experiments revealed that the average fatigue lives of coated specimens were nearly two times longer than those of the uncoated specimens. The measurements of Young’s modulus of the coating yielded values that varied between 27 and 53 GPa, with an average value of 43 GPa. Loading in tension caused a decrease in the Young’s modulus of the coating, while loading in compression led to an increase in Young’s modulus. The increase in the lifetime of coated samples was likely due to compressive residual stresses in the substrate, originating during the spray process. The failure of the coating was due to several processes, among which the most important were splat cracking, splat debonding, and the coalescence of cracks through the voids in the coating.     

Influence of Pre-Heated Al 6061 Substrate Temperature on the Residual Stresses of Multipass Al Coatings Deposited by Cold Spray

In this work, the influence of the substrate temperature on the deposition efficiency, on the coating properties and residual stress was investigated. Pure Al coatings were deposited on Al 6061 alloy substrates using a CGT Kinetics 3000 cold spray system. The substrate temperature was in a range between 20 (room temperature) and 375 °C and was kept nearly constant during a given deposition while all the other deposition parameters were unchanged. The deposited coatings were quenched in water (within 1 min from the deposition) and then characterized. The residual stress was determined by Almen gage method, Modified Layer Removal Method, and XRD in order to identify both the mean coating stress and the stress profile through the coating thickness from the surface to the coating-substrate interface. The residual stress results obtained by these three methods were compared and discussed. The coating morphology and porosity were investigated using optical and scanning electron microscopy.     

Coating residual stress effects on fatigue performance of 7050-T7451 aluminum alloy

The tendency of the aircraft industry is to enhance customer value by improving performance and reducing environmental impact. In view of availability, aluminum alloys have a historically tendency to faster insertion due to their lower manufacturing and operated production infrastructure. In landing gear components, wear and corrosion control of many components is accomplished by surface treatments of chrome electroplating on steel or anodizing of aluminum. One of the most interesting environmentally safer and cleaner alternatives for the replacement of hard chrome plating or anodizing is tungsten carbide thermal spray coating, applied by the high velocity oxy fuel (HVOF) process. However, it was observed that residual stresses originating from these coatings reduce the fatigue strength of a component.An effective process as shot peening treatment, considered to improve the fatigue strength, pushes the crack sources beneath the surface in most of medium and high cycle cases, due to the compressive residual stress field induced. The objective of this research is to evaluate a tungsten carbide cobalt (WC-Co) coating applied by the high velocity oxy fuel (HVOF) process, used to replace anodizing. Anodic films were grown on 7050-T7451 aluminum alloy by sulfuric acid anodizing, chromic acid anodizing and hard anodizing. The influence on axial fatigue strength of anodic films grown on the aluminum alloy surface is to degrade the stress-life performance of the base material. Three groups of specimens were prepared and tested in axial fatigue to obtain S-N curves: base material, base material coated by HVOF and base material shot peened and coated.Experimental results revealed increase in the fatigue strength of Al 7050-T7451 alloy associated with the WC 17% Co coating. On the other hand, a reduction in fatigue life occurred in the shot peened and coated condition. Scanning electron microscopy technique and optical microscopy were used to observe crack origin sites, thickness and coating/substrate adhesion.     

Effect of cold spray deposition of a titanium coating on fatigue behavior of a titanium alloy

The deposition of titanium on a titanium alloy substrate is being examined for potential use as a surface treatment for medical prostheses. A Ti6Al4V alloy was coated with pure titanium by cold gas dynamic spraying. Coatings were deposited onto samples with two different surface preparation methods (as-received and grit-blasted). The fatigue life of the as-received and grit-blasted materials, both before and after coating, was measured with a rotating-bend fatigue rig. A 15% reduction in fatigue endurance limit was observed after application of the coating to the as-received substrate, but no significant reduction was observed on its application to the grit-blasted substrate. The reduction in fatigue endurance limit has been related to the substrate-coating interface properties, the elastic modulus, and the residual stress states. This article was originally published inBuilding on 100 Years of Success, Proceedings of the 2006 International Thermal Spray Conference, (Seattle, WA), May 15–18, 2006, B.R. Marple, M.M. Hyland, Y.-Ch. Lau, R.S. Lima, and J. Voyer, Ed., ASM International, Materials Park, 2006.     

Effect of spray distance on the corrosion-fatigue behavior of a medium-carbon steel coated with a Colmonoy 88 alloy deposited by HVOF thermal spray

The present work has been conducted in order to determine the influence of the spray distance, on the corrosion-fatigue behavior of a SAE 1045 steel substrate coated with a Ni base coating deposited by high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) thermal spray. The spray distances employed in the present investigation were of 380, 425 and 470 mm. The mechanical properties of the coated systems were evaluated by means of tensile and corrosion-fatigue tests conducted with cylindrical samples. Corrosion-fatigue tests were carried out under rotating bending conditions (R = − 1), at a frequency of 50 Hz and maximum alternating stresses in the range of 250-420 MPa, employing a 3 wt.% NaCl solution. The results indicate that varying the spray distance in the range of 380-470 mm has apparently no significant influence on the corrosion-fatigue behavior of the coated systems. However, the presence of the Ni base coating gives rise to a significant increase in the corrosion-fatigue life of the coated substrate, in comparison with the uncoated steel. Such an increase varies between ∼ 90 and 440% in the interval of maximum alternating stresses investigated in the present work. Also, the coated systems exhibited a better corrosion-fatigue performance in comparison with the same steel substrate coated with an electrolytic hard chromium (EHC) deposit.     

Cross-Sectional Residual Stresses in Thermal Spray Coatings Measured by Moiré Interferometry and Nanoindentation Technique

A plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coating (TBC) was deposited on a stainless steel substrate. The residual stresses were firstly measured by moiré interferometry combined with a cutting relaxation method. The fringe patterns in the cross-section of the specimen clearly demonstrate the deformation caused by the residual stress in thermal spray coatings. However, restricted by the sensitivity of moiré interferometry, there are few fringes in the top coat, and large errors may exist in evaluating the residual stress in the top coat. Then, the nanoindentation technique was used to estimate the residual stresses across the coating thickness. The stress/depth profile shows that the process-induced stresses after thermal spray are compressive in the top coat and a tendency to a more compressive state toward the interface. In addition, the stress gradient in the substrate is nonlinear, and tensile and compressive stresses appear simultaneously for self-equilibrium in the cross-section.     

Microstructure, fatigue and corrosion properties of the Ti-Al intermetallic layers

In this research the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-Al intermetallic layers before and after exposure to corrosive environments have been evaluated. The intermetallic layers have been deposited on the Ti6Al2Cr2Mo titanium alloy by the duplex method. For this purpose, a coating of magnetron sputtered Al was deposited on titanium specimens. Subsequently, these sputtered titanium alloy substrates were treated under glow discharge conditions. The uncoated and coated samples were exposed to cyclic acidified synthetic sea water and an environment composed of 100% hydrogen sulphide. Exposure in those aggressive environments did not have an effect on the high surface microhardness of the Ti-Al layers. Furthermore, the surface treatment significantly increased the fatigue properties of the titanium alloy.