Abstract
Replacement of Electrolytic Hard Chrome plating (EHC) using High Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) thermal spray processes to apply dense, wear and corrosion resistant coatings has been identified as a significant goal for the advancement and growth of the thermal spray industry for several years. This paper will provide some details of the development and production implementation of a WC-Co-Cr coating to be used as an alternative to EHC. WC-Co-Cr has been demonstrated in most situations to be superior to the wear performance of EHC with respect to providing functionality in aircraft landing gear hydraulic seal and bearing service. The developed coating is produced via the HVOF process using natural gas as fuel. EHC alternatives using WC-Co-Cr HVOF coatings require significant development prior to implementation into practice. Suitable wear, corrosion and lack of fatigue debit are examples of a few critical properties of coatings for use in landing gear applications. In addition a brief description of the production implementation of a turnkey spray cell for the coating of landing gears will be provided in this paper.
