Abstract
Recent work indicates that the high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) thermal spraying WC-Co coatings have been used to enhance the wear resistance of various engineering components in a variety of industrial environments. In the present work, WC-Co powder, containing Cr particles in an amount of 10%, was deposited on ductile cast iron with the HVOF thermal spray coating technique. An investigation was conducted to determine the role of Cr particles in the WC-Co coating produced with the HVOF technique on microstructure, mechanical, and wear properties in a system of type: WC-Co coating/ductile cast iron. The microstructure of the HVOF-sprayed WC-Co + Cr coating was characterised by light microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The analysis of the microstructure showed the formation of a coating with low porosity, compact structure, and good adhesion to the substrate with a typical lamellar structure composed of fine molten Cr particles and finely fragmented WC grains embedded in a Co matrix, reaching the size of nanocrystalline. The scratch test was applied for the analysis of the adhesion of coatings to the substrate. The erosion behaviour and mechanism of material removal was studied and discussed based on microstructural examinations. Moreover, the results were discussed in relation to the bending strength test, including cracks and delamination in the system of the WC-Co + Cr/ductile cast iron, as microhardness and erosion resistance of the coating. It was found that the addition of Cr particles to the WC-Co powder, which causes hardening of the binder phase is a key influence on increased mechanical and wear properties in the studied system. Additionally, due to the construction of nanostructured coatings, suitable proportion of hard and soft phases, the technique sprayed HVOF coatings have advantageous properties such as high density and good slurry erosion resistance.