Mechanical Properties of Arc Coatings Sprayed with Cored Wires with Different Charge Compositions

The mechanical properties (hardness, cohesion, and residual stresses) of arc coatings designed for operation under conditions of boundary friction and corrosive-abrasive wear are analyzed. The coatings were formed by arc spraying cored wires (CW) with different charge compositions (the content of carbon, aluminum, and boron in CW charge varied). It is shown that the hardness of the coatings increases with an increase in the carbon content in them up to 1 wt. %, and then decreased due to an increase in the content of residual austenite in their structure. The level of residual stresses of the first kind in such coatings increased by four times with an increase in the carbon content to 2 wt. %. The hardness of the coatings and the level of residual tensile stresses in them also increase with a decrease in the aluminum content in them. In this case, the cohesive strength of the coatings increased due to the implementation of aluminothermic reactions in the droplets of the CW melt during their flight and crystallization on the sprayed surfaces. However, then, with an increase in the aluminum content in the coatings of more than 2 wt. %, their cohesive strength decreased. The level of residual tensile stresses in coatings with a high content of retained austenite decreased after heat treatment (tempering) of the specimens. Sometimes, after tempering, these stresses even transformed into residual compressive stresses (in particular, under using CW C1.4Cr14Ni2). At the same time, the tempering of specimens with a predominance of ferrite in the coating structure increased the level of residual tensile stresses in them, which is due to the precipitation of finely dispersed carbides or borides. It has been shown that the addition of boron-containing components (ferrochromium-boron, chromium-boron) to the composition of the CW charge leads to a significant increase in the hardness of the coatings. Thus, an increase in the boron content in coatings from 0 to 4 wt. % leads to an increase in their hardness from 320 HV to 1060 HV. However, this is accompanied by an increase in tensile residual stresses in the coatings and a decrease in their cohesive strength.