No abstract

In order to be competitive, it is demanded to have thin, tough and long lasting coatings. An important aspect is to use stable deposition technologies. As Cr assures wear, corrosion and high temperature resistance, the most employed coatings in industry generally contain Cr. Nevertheless, Cr is a hazardous element for the humans’ health, therefore, sustainable alternatives are needed to be implemented. The aim of this work is to investigate the microstructure, hardness, corrosion resistance and wear behavior of the novel WC-CoMo compared to conventional WC-Co coatings. So far, WC-CoMo coatings are not part of state of the art regarding the Atmospheric Plasma Sprayed (APS) coatings. WC-Co powder in plain form and mechanically mixed with Mo was deposited using the APS method on standardized Type A Almen Strips (C67 steel). The size of the powder grains varies between 5 µm and 30 µm. The obtained samples were investigated by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction, and hardness, wear and corrosion behavior were also evaluated. Results revealed formation of different intermetallic phases around the WC particles, which have a benefic influence on the coating characteristics and microstructure.

The present study investigates the possibility to apply a vacuum furnace thermal post-treatment as an alternative solution for flame sprayed NiCrBSi wear and corrosion-resistant coatings, deposited on a low alloyed structural steel. The controlled atmosphere offers advantages regarding the fusion of the coating, porosity reduction, and degassing. An improvement of the applied heating-cooling cycle was performed through the variation of time and temperature. The best performing samples were selected by comparing their porosity and roughness values. The chosen samples were subsequently characterized regarding their microstructure, microhardness, sliding wear, and corrosion behavior. The experimental work confirms that the use of a vacuum remelting post-process reduces the porosity below 1% and leads to the formation of a larger quantity of hard boron-containing phases, promoting a significant decrease of the wear rate, while maintaining a good corrosion behavior.

Process parameters play a crucial role in the final characteristics and properties of every product. The current work focuses mainly on improving the vacuum furnace brazing process for tungsten carbide reinforced Ni-based alloy (NiCrBSi) metallic composite coatings, by establishing the best set of parameters adapted to this specific chemical composition. In order to determine the optimum parameters, a fine adjustment of a typical vacuum brazing process was performed. The melting interval of the filler metal was identified by means of Differential Thermal Analysis. Morphology, microstructure and metallurgical bond of the cladding to the substrate material were investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy and Light Microscopy combined with a Porosity Analysis Software. The process optimization resolved the initial problem of fractures and crack initiation, making possible to achieve high quality hardfacing coatings with a low degree of porosity (approximately 1 %).

No abstract