Oxidation of stainless steel in the high velocity oxy-fuel process

The high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spray process has been primarily used for the application of wear-resistant coatings and, with the introduction of new, more powerful systems, is being increasingly considered for producing corrosion-resistant coatings. In this study, the influence of various spray parameters for the JP-5000 and Diamond Jet (DJ) Hybrid systems on the oxidation of stainless steel 316L is characterized. Experimental results reveal that coating oxygen contents of less than 1 wt.% can be more easily attained with the JP-5000 than the DJ Hybrid systems because of the former’s design. In both cases, however, the low particle temperatures necessary for low oxygen content coatings may impair bond and cohesive strength. Heat treating the coatings after processing reduces hardness, metallurgically enhances bond strength, and enables the spheroidization of oxide layers surrounding unmelted particles. An empirical model describing oxidation in the thermal spray process was expanded to explain the oxidation in the HVOF spraying of stainless steel. It was concluded that for these oxygen-sensitive materials, maintaining a relatively low particle temperature throughout the spray process minimizes oxygen pickup by preventing an autocatalytic oxidation process and particle fragmentation upon impact. For the DJ Hybrid systems, understoichiometric fuel settings are selected, whereas for the JP-5000, oxygen-rich mixtures are preferred.     

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.     

Atmospheric plasma spraying of yttria-stabilized zirconia coatings with specific porosity

The interdependence between plasma spray process parameters and porosity of YSZ coating microstructures was investigated with simultaneous consideration of the deposition efficiency. Based on a factorial experimental plan, the argon plasma gas flow, the current, the interaction of argon flow and current, and the spray distance for the Triplex II plasma gun were found to yield the main contributions to porosity as well as to deposition efficiency.Each of these three process parameters has a significant individual effect on the in-flight particle velocities and temperatures. The contribution to the effects on porosity arises almost exclusively from the particle temperature. Regarding the deposition efficiency, the larger contribution originates from the particle velocity.To achieve a targeted high porosity at reasonable deposition efficiency a simple linear regression model was applied yielding an argon flow of 50 slpm and a current of 470 A at a spray distance of 200 mm as the optimum parameter set. The average particle temperature estimated for this optimum is just above the melting temperature. At this setting, a porosity of 17.7% and a deposition efficiency of 32.5% may be expected.At a greater spray distance and lower power density (lower current and/or higher argon plasma gas flow) the deposition efficiency was observed to drop considerably. The cooling of the particles here becomes critical, i.e. the particles are only partly molten. This was verified by an analysis of the density distributions of measured in-flight particle temperatures.     

超音速火焰喷枪设计理论与数值模拟的研究进展

超音速火焰喷涂作为热喷涂领域的新技术具有粒子飞行速度高 ,涂层质量好等优点。本文在介绍了超音速火焰喷涂的原理、特点、应用的基础上 ,阐述了国内外超音速火焰喷枪结构设计的研究进展 ,分析了目前国际上流行的六种喷枪结构的特点 ,综述了用数值模拟的方法探讨喷嘴内外焰流的工作状态、焰流及粒子的压力场、速度场与温度场的变化规律 ,从而为超音速火焰喷涂技术的发展和超音速喷枪的优化设计提供基础     

Effect of in-flight particle properties on deposition of air plasma sprayed forsterite

Properties of forsterite coatings deposited by two DC-arc plasma spray guns were studied. The guns generate different types and shapes of plasma jets, resulting in different particle/plasma interactions and different microstructures in the coatings due to the different in-flight particle histories. The particle histories are characterized by cross-sectional maps of the plasma jet showing particle temperature, velocity, and particle size distributions and the number of particles correlated with the coating microstructures.     

Mechanical and Thermal Transport Properties of Suspension Thermal-Sprayed Alumina-Zirconia Composite Coatings

Micro-laminates and nanocomposites of Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂ can potentially exhibit higher hardness and fracture toughness and lower thermal conductivity than alumina or zirconia alone. The potential of these improvements for abrasion protection and thermal barrier coatings is generating considerable interest in developing techniques for producing these functional coatings with optimized microstructures. Al₂O₃-ZrO₂ composite coatings were deposited by suspension thermal spraying (APS and HVOF) of submicron feedstock powders. The liquid carrier employed in this approach allows for controlled injection of much finer particles than in conventional thermal spraying, leading to unique and novel fine-scaled microstructures. The suspensions were injected internally using a Mettech Axial III plasma torch and a Sulzer-Metco DJ-2700 HVOF gun. The different spray processes induced a variety of structures ranging from finely segregated ceramic laminates to highly alloyed amorphous composites. Mechanisms leading to these structures are related to the feedstock size and in-flight particle states upon their impact. Mechanical and thermal transport properties of the coatings were compared. Compositionally segregated crystalline coatings, obtained by plasma spraying, showed the highest hardness of up to 1125 VHN_{3 N}, as well as the highest abrasion wear resistance (following ASTM G65). The HVOF coating exhibited the highest erosion wear resistance (following ASTM G75), which was related to the toughening effect of small dispersed zirconia particles in the alumina-zirconia-alloyed matrix. This microstructure also exhibited the lowest thermal diffusivity, which is explained by the amorphous phase content and limited particle bonding, generating local thermal resistances within the structure.     

Optimization of spray conditions in cold spraying based on numerical analysis of particle velocity

The effects of the parameters involved in cold spray on the acceleration of particles are systematically investigated by a CFD code in order to reveal the main factors influencing significantly particle velocity. The parameters involved include nozzle geometry parameters, processing parameters and properties of spray particles. It is found that driving gas type, operating pressure and temperature are main processing parameters which influence particle velocity. As for nozzle geometry, the expansion ratio and divergent section length of spray gun nozzle show significant effects. Moreover, the density, size and morphology of powder also have significant effects on particle velocity. The effects of those main parameters are summarized in a comprehensive equation obtained through nonlinear regression of the simulated results for the estimation of particle velocity. The interactions of the parameters on particle acceleration can be examined through the equation. Moreover, the optimization of the dimensions of spray gun nozzle and spray parameters can be realized based on the obtained results.     

Effect of processing conditions on porosity formation in cold gas dynamic spraying of copper

The cold gas dynamics process is a promising low-temperature spray process in which particles are accelerated in a supersonic flow before impacting with substrate to be coated. In this study the effect of spray temperature, spray pressure, and particle size on porosity formation in cold spray coatings are investigated. Results show that an increase in spray temperature and a decrease in particle size lead to a decline in volume fraction of porosity. Furthermore, particle velocity and particle temperature are determined to be the significant parameters for elimination of porosity. A model is proposed for estimation of the volume fraction of porosity for alloy of this study.     

高速电弧喷涂铝涂层性能试验研究

本文对高速电弧喷涂铝涂层和普通电弧喷涂铝涂层进行了对比试验研究。结果表明：高速电弧喷涂粒子束更加集中,粒子的飞行速度显著提高,粒子的雾化效果明显改善。高速电弧喷滁铝涂层具有结合强度高、硬度高、孔隙率低、组织致密等特点。     

高速火焰电弧复合喷涂枪制备3Cr13涂层的性能

高速火焰电弧(HVAF-ARC)复合喷涂枪是高速火焰喷涂枪和电弧喷涂枪的结合体,利用产生的高速燃气来雾化加速电弧喷涂过程中产生的熔融粒子,提高了喷涂粒子的飞行速度,降低了粒子的氧化,可高效制备优质的涂层。文中利用自主开发的新型高速火焰电弧复合喷涂枪和普通高速电弧喷涂枪,分别在钢基体上制备了3Cr13涂层,通过对涂层的性能检测发现,复合喷涂枪所制备涂层的氧元素含量和孔隙率都比普通高速电弧喷涂枪制备的涂层低,分别降低了33%和49%,硬度提高了12%,复合喷涂枪制备涂层的性能得到较大的提高。     

Influence of Parameter Variations on WC-Co Splat Formation in an HVOF Process Using a New Beam-Shutter Device

The formation of single splats is the foundation for any thermal spray coating. Therefore, this study focuses on the investigation of single splat morphologies to determine the influence of spray parameters on the morphological distribution of particles inside the flame. A new method to create a footprint of a spray jet with an extremely short exposure time was used. The resulting field of splats enabled the assignment of each splat to its radial position in the spray jet. The footprints were analyzed and the quantities and morphologies of the splats were correlated to particle in-flight measurements and coating properties. A strong correlation between the particle velocity, the percentage of the so-called pancake-like splats, and the porosity of the coating could be revealed. The influence of the particle temperature was found to be of minor importance to the splat form and the porosity of the coatings. Still, the particle temperature had a good correlation with the coating hardness and the dissolving of the WC. Measurements of the splat size in different areas of the footprints revealed that the percentage of splats larger than 40 μm in diameter was generally higher in the center of the footprint than in the outer regions.     

Microstructure and properties of WC-10%Co-4% Cr Spray powders and coatings: Part 1. Powder characterization

WC-10% Co-4% Cr¹ represents an important composition for thermally sprayed hardmetal-like coatings that are applied when simultaneous wear and corrosion resistance is required. In this paper, four commercially available spray powders obtained by various production techniques (sintering and crushing, agglomeration and plasma densification) were thoroughly characterized using a broad variety of physical and chemical methods, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray (EDX), x-ray diffraction, adsorption, mercury intrusion, and helium pycnometry. Special emphasis is given to the interdependence of the chemical and phase compositions. The cooling rate applied during preparation of the spray powders seems to be responsible for the appearance of equilibrium or nonequilibrium phases, as was established from the investigation of the spray powders after heat treatment at 1000 °C. The amount of Cr added to the composition, 4%, is higher than the solubility limit of chromium in the binder phase in the presence of WC; hence, a second carbide phase is formed. The carbon content determines which carbide phase is formed and how both cobalt and chromium are distributed between the hard and the binder phases. A substantial carbon deficiency leads to nearly complete bonding of both chromium and cobalt into carbide phases. As was shown by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) experiments, such spray powders do not form a melt in the temperature range up to 1465 °C, while powders containing clearly detectable amounts of metallic cobalt form a melt above 1210 °C.     

Vacuum sintering of WC-8 wt.% Co hardmetals from WC powders with different dispersity

The effect of sintering temperature and particle size of tungsten carbide WC on phase composition, density and microstructure of hardmetals WC-8 wt.% Co has been studied using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and density measurements. The sintering temperature has been varied in the range from 800 to 1600 °C. The coarse-grained WC powder with an average particle size of 6 μm, submicrocrystalline WC powder with an average particle size of 150 nm and two nanocrystalline WC powders with average sizes of particles 60 and 20 nm produced by a plasma-chemical synthesis and high-energy ball milling, respectively, have been used for synthesis of hardmetals. It is established that ternary Co₆W₆C carbide phase is the first to form as a result of sintering of the starting powder mixture. At sintering temperature of 1100-1300 °C, this phase reacts with carbon to form Co₃W₃C phase. A cubic solid solution of tungsten carbide in cobalt, β-Co(WC), is formed along with ternary carbide phases at sintering temperature above 1000 °C. Dependences of density and microhardness of sintering hardmetals on sintering temperature are found. The use of nanocrystalline WC powders is shown to reduce the optimal sintering temperature of the WC-Co hardmetals by about 100 °C.     

Selection criteria for wear resistant powder coatings under extreme erosive wear conditions

Wear-resistant thermal spray coatings for sliding wear are hard but brittle (such as carbide and oxide based coatings), which makes them useless under impact loading conditions and sensitive to fatigue. Under extreme conditions of erosive wear (impact loading, high hardness of abrasives, and high velocity of abradant particles), composite coatings ensure optimal properties of hardness and toughness. The article describes tungsten carbide-cobalt (WC-Co) systems and self-fluxing alloys, containing tungsten carbide based hardmetal particles [NiCrSiB-(WC-Co)] deposited by the detonation gun, continuous detonation spraying, and spray fusion processes. Different powder compositions and processes were studied, and the effect of the coating structure and wear parameters on the wear resistance of coatings are evaluated. The dependence of the wear resistance of sprayed and fused coatings on their hardness is discussed, and hardness criteria for coating selection are proposed. The so-called “double cemented” structure of WC-Co based hardmetal or metal matrix composite coatings, as compared with a simple cobalt matrix containing particles of WC, was found optimal. Structural criteria for coating selection are provided. To assist the end user in selecting an optimal deposition method and materials, coating selection diagrams of wear resistance versus hardness are given. This paper also discusses the cost-effectiveness of coatings in the application areas that are more sensitive to cost, and composite coatings based on recycled materials are offered.     

Influence of hydrogen on the microstructure of plasma-sprayed yttria-stabilized zirconia coatings

The influence of secondary hydrogen and current on the deposition efficiency (DE) and microstructure of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) coatings was evaluated. To better understand the influence of the spray process on coating consistency, a YSZ powder, −125 +44 μm, was sprayed with nitrogen/hydrogen parameters and a 9 MB plasma gun from Sulzer Metco. DE and coating porosity, which were produced using two different spray gun conditions yielding the same input power, were compared. Amperage was allowed to vary between 500 and 560 A, and hydrogen was adjusted to maintain constant power, while nitrogen flow was kept at a fixed level. Several power conditions, ranging from 32 to 39 kW, were tested. Different injection geometries (i.e., radial with and without a backward component) were also compared. The latter was found to produce higher in-flight temperatures due to a longer residence time of the powder particles in the hotter portion of the plasma. Porosity was based on cross-sectional micrographs. In-flight particle temperature and velocity measurements were also carried out with a special sensor for each condition. Test results showed that DE and coating density could vary significantly when a different hydrogen flow rate was used to maintain constant input power. On the other hand, DE was found to correlate very well with the temperature of the in-flight particles. Therefore, to obtain more consistent and reproducible DE and microstructures, it is preferable to maintain the in-flight particle temperature around a constant value instead of keeping a constant input power by adjusting the secondary hydrogen flow rate.     

Fabrication of Porous Molybdenum by Controlling Spray Particle State

In this study, porous molybdenum (Mo) was prepared by flame spraying of semi-molten particles with low velocity. The influence of spray particle parameters, including velocity and melting degree, on the microstructure and porosity of Mo deposit was investigated to understand the formation mechanism of the pore structure and connection between particles. The results showed that Mo spray particles with low velocity (<20 m/s) and semi-molten state can be generated by flame spraying. The Mo deposits with porosity from 39 to 61% were produced. High porosity in the deposit was achieved through the shielding effect of deposited particles. The surface-molten particles were bonded by the melt which flowed from surface to the particle/particle contact area. Moreover, the porosity decreased with the increase of melting degree of particles before impact. A 2D stacking model of semi-molten particles was proposed to explain the formation of bimodal pores and high porosity.     

Computational simulation of liquid-fuelled HVOF thermal spraying

Liquid-fuelled high-velocity oxygen–fuel (HVOF) thermal spraying systems are gaining more attentions due to their advantage of producing denser coatings in comparison to their gas-fuelled counterparts. The flow through a HVOF gun is characterized by a complex array of thermodynamic phenomena involving combustion, turbulence and compressible flow. Advanced computational models have been developed to gain insight to the thermochemical processes of thermal spraying, however little work has been reported for the liquid-fuelled systems. This investigation employs a commercial finite volume CFD code to simulate the flow field through the most widely used liquid-fuel HVOF gun, JP5000 (Praxair, US). By combining numerical combustion and discrete phase models the turbulent spray flame is captured and the development of supersonic gas flow is revealed. The flow field is thoroughly examined by adjusting the nozzle throat diameter and combustion chamber size. The influence of fuel droplet size on the flame shame shape and combusting gas flow is also examined.     

Relationships between in-flight particle characteristics and properties of HVOF sprayed WC-CoCr coatings

Commercially available WC10Co4Cr powder was thermally sprayed by HVOF process. The methane was used as the fuel gas and its flow rate was successively changed as well as the oxygen. The investigation was carried out to determine the influence of operating parameters on the evolution of velocity and temperature of in-flight particles in order to have a better understanding of the interaction between the particle and the flame jet. In relation to the particle characteristics, properties of the sprayed coatings were examined in terms of microstructure, porosity level and microhardness. The results show that the particle velocity and temperature depends strongly on the particle size. The variation of the methane flow rate has a more obvious influence on the velocity and temperature of particles than that of the oxygen. The changes of porosity and microhardness of deposited coatings are discussed corresponding to the variation of fuel and oxygen flow rates.     

Investigation of particle in-flight characteristics during atmospheric plasma spraying of yttria-stabilized ZrO2: Part 1. Experimental

A detailed investigation of the relationship between the parameters of the spray process and the in-flight properties of the particles was carried out using a multivariate statistical approach. A full factorial designed experiment concerning the spray process was performed, the spray gun parameters’ current, argon flow rate, hydrogen flow rate, and powder feed rate being selected to control the process. The particle properties, viz. velocity, temperature, and diameter, were determined using an optical measurement system, DPV 2000. In addition, the standard deviations of, and the correlations between, the measured particle properties were analyzed. The results showed current to have the strongest impact on particle velocity and particle temperature and argon flow rate to be the only parameter with an inverse effect on velocity and temperature.     

高速低温喷涂气固作用行为及喷涂系统研究进展

高速低温喷涂是利用固相或含固相的低温粉末在高速度、高动能作用下碰撞基体表面沉积的喷涂方法,具有氧化轻微、 结合牢固、组织致密、综合力学性能优异等潜在优势,在高性能金属或金属基复合材料涂层制备、增材制造和零件损伤修复等领域获得广泛关注。以粉末低温高速碰撞沉积过程为主线,凝练现有冷喷涂和低温超音速火焰喷涂两种具体工艺的共性特征,阐明喷涂气流与粉末颗粒的气固两相交互作用规律,分析出合理调控颗粒温度和速度是改善沉积体性能的关键。其次分析高速低温喷涂设备系统的构成,详细讨论各核心部件的结构设计策略及对气固流动行为的影响,总结出通过调整工艺参数与喷枪结构,可以实现颗粒温度和速度的按需控制。最后,对高速低温喷涂工艺及设备系统发展目前尚存的关键问题进行展望。总结如何通过喷涂参数与装置设计,最终达成调控沉积体性能的目的,有助于深入理解高速低温喷涂的沉积机理,对研制高性能的喷涂设备系统具有参考意义。