Tribological behavior of nanostructured high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) thermal sprayed WC-17NiCr coatings

Abstract In this research, the nanostructured WC-17NiCr cermet coatings were developed using the high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) thermal spraying processes on ACI CD4MCu cast duplex stainless steel substrates, widely used in pump industry for abrasive wear protection of surfaces. The coatings, sprayed by both robotic and manual methods, had two different fuel (methane) to oxygen ratios (FTOR), namely 0.68 and 0.62. Using different analytical and microstructural techniques, the microstructural characteristics of the powder particles and mechanical, microstructural, and tribological properties of the coatings were determined. Different morphologies were assigned to sprayable particles, namely spherical, apple, donut, irregular, and mixed. It was revealed that the rate of WC decarburization had increased with increasing the FTOR. In contrast, the scanning electron microscopy and image analyses showed that the lowest porosity percentage was obtained for the robotically-sprayed coating with 0.68 FTOR. The Vickers microhardness increased along with fracture toughness, which can be attributed to the effect of the ‘duplex structure’ associated with the particle outer coating of Co and is a novelty in the research. The pin-on-disk reciprocal sliding wear tests at various loadings had shown different wear rates in the coatings. It was inferred that the wear performance was improved with the microstructural homogeneity, hardness, and the fracture toughness in the coatings. In all coatings, lower coefficient of friction (COF) was observed at higher loads. Finally, the wear mechanisms involved in the wear processes were identified as deformation and removal of the binder, fracture and pullout of the carbide particles, and delamination and spallation of the splats.