Ni/Al Intermetallics Plasma Transferred Arc Processing

TAILORING COMPONENT SUFACES for elevatedtemperature operations has been a goal of researchersduring the last century.Process and material selectionare the key factors for this development.In particularlythe latter can be described to have started with thedevelopment of stainless steels.Ni and Co based alloys,the superalloys,attended the increasing technologicaldemands for higher service temperatures(1).Morerecently the higher operating temperatures ofequipments,such as gas turbines,r…

Ni/Al Intermetallics Plasma Transferred Arc Processing

In-situ alloy development during surface processing allows for a limitless materials selection to protect components exposed to severe service conditions. In fact surface alloying offers the possibility to strengthen surface components with alloys that would not be possible to process otherwise. This work used Plasma transferred arc (PTA) hardfacing for surface alloying. Different amounts of aluminium powder, 5-25%, were added to a Ni based superalloy, from Hastealloy C family, in the atomized form. The mixture was homogeneized in a ball mill and PTA deposited on carbon steel substrate. The influence of different processing parameters on the final surface alloy was evaluated as current intensity and depositing velocity were varied. Coatings were characterized by optical and scanning electronic microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Vickers microhardness profiles, under a 500g load. Results showed that PTA hardfacing is an adequate surface alloying. For the conditions tested increasing hardness was obtained by solid solution for the lower amounts of Al added and due to the new intermetallic phases for the richer Al mixture.