In a variety of engineering applications, components are exposed to corrosive/erosive environment. Protective coatings are essential to improve the functional performances and/or extend the lifetime of the components. Thermal spraying as a cost-effective coating deposition technique offers high flexibility in coatings’ chemistry/morphology/microstructure design. However, the pores formed during spraying inherently restrict the use of coatings for corrosion protection. In view of the above gap to have a high quality coating, bi-layer coatings have been developed to boost the corrosion performance of the coatings. In a bi-layer coating, an intermediate layer is deposited on the substrate before spraying the coating. The electrochemical behavior of each layer is critical to ensure a good corrosion protection. The corrosion behavior of the layers strongly depends on coating composition and microstructure, which are affected by feedstock material and spraying process. In the present work, Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr top layer with different intermediate layers (i. e., Fe-, and Ni-based) were sprayed by high-velocity air fuel (HVAF) process. Microstructure analysis, as well as electrochemical tests, e.g., open-circuit potential (OCP) and polarization were performed. The results showed a direct link between the OCP of each layer in a bi-layer coating and corrosion mechanisms. It was found that the higher corrosion resistance of Ni-based intermediate layers than Fe-based coatings was due to higher OCP of the coating in the galvanic couple with top layers. Splat boundaries and interconnected pores reduced the corrosion resistance of the intermediate layers, however a sufficient reservoir of protective scale-forming elements (such as Cr or Al) improved the corrosion behavior.

It is well known that the presence of KCl deposited on superheater tubes in biomass- and waste-fired boilers leads to a severe corrosion and premature damage. In order to protect such critical components which are routinely exposed to aggressive environments, thermal sprayings are frequently proposed as a potential solution. By virtue of the techno-commercial benefits that provides as a direct outcome of its ability to cost-effectively deposit coatings virtually free of porosity and in situ formed oxides, the high velocity air-fuel (HVAF) process offers a particularly attractive approach. In the present work, the influence of KCl on the oxidation behavior of four HVAF-sprayed Ni-based coatings (Ni21Cr, Ni5Al, Ni21Cr7Al1Y, and Ni21Cr9Mo) has been investigated. The coatings were deposited onto specimens of 16Mo3 steel, a widely used boiler tube material. High temperature corrosion tests were carried out in ambient air at 600°C, with 0.1 mg/cm2 KCl being sprayed onto the samples prior to the exposure. Uncoated substrates and an identical test environment without KCl were used as reference. SEM/EDS and XRD techniques were utilized to characterize the as-sprayed and exposed samples. The results showed that the small addition of KCl significantly accelerated damage to the coatings. It was further revealed that the alumina-forming NiAl coating was capable of forming a more protective oxide scale compared to other chromia and mixed-oxide scale forming coatings. In general, the oxidation resistance of the coatings based on the kinetic studies had the following ranking (from the best to the worst): NiAl >NiCr> NiCrAlY> NiCrMo.

The basic aim of presented article is related with comparison of internal morphology of atmospheric plasma sprayed NiCrAlY coating and sintered alloy obtained from the same feedstock powder. This part of investigations consisted characterization of phases composition and internal morphology characterization by SEM/EDS method. The second level of this comparing process is characterization of oxidation process in both cases. In order to properly perform these tests the top surfaces of sintered sample was sand blasted to the roughness level adequate to surface condition after plasma spraying process. The oxidation tests were performed at temperature 1000 and 1100°C during the time to 1000h of exposure in air. The specimens after determined intervals were moving out from the furnace and characterized by visual inspection of top surface as well as by SEM/EDS method and XRD analysis to characterization of phases generated during oxidation. The special emphasis was on the characterization of TGO zone on cross sectioned samples where detailed assessment of oxides zone morphology was made by SEM/EDS method. The oxide thickness was measured as well with dividing of overall oxides zone thickness on the sublayers related with alumina and spinels formation.

A nanostructured WC-CoCr coating was fabricated by HVOF spraying using a new type of WC-CoCr powder in which the CoCr exists in the form of a metallic compound. The CoCr powder constituent was prepared by induction melting and mechanical milling. It was then combined with a WC-Co composite nanopowder and the mixture was agglomerated by spray drying and heat treating. The powders and coatings produced were characterized by means of XRD, EDS, and BSE analysis, nanoindentation testing, and potentiodynamic polarization studies. The results show that the presence of the intermetallic CoCr compound makes nanostructured WC-CoCr coatings harder and much more corrosion resistant than conventional WC-Co-Cr coatings in which Cr exists as an unalloyed metal.

In this work, SiC coatings varying in content were prepared on carbon-fiber-reinforced silicon-carbide composite (C/SiC) substrates in order to study the effect of free silicon on oxidation resistance. The coatings were formed in a vacuum atmosphere by means of pack cementation using a powder mixture ranging in content as follows: 20-50 wt% SiC, 20-60 wt% Si, 7-12 wt% graphite, and 6-10 wt% Al 2 O 3 . Coating surface and cross-sectional morphologies were examined using SEM, EDS, and semiquantitative XRD analysis and oxidation resistance was determined by cyclic oxidation testing in air at 1300 °C. The results show that cracks and voids decrease with increasing free silicon content and that coatings with an appropriate amount of free silicon have better oxidation resistance than those with no free silicon at all. However, further increases in silicon content were found to be detrimental to oxidation behavior for a number of reasons that are discussed.

Thermally sprayed aluminum (TSA) coatings have been successfully used to mitigate corrosion of carbon steel in offshore service, but concerns regarding its suitability in CO 2 -containing solutions have kept it out of the running for emerging carbon capture and storage applications. This paper presents the results of a 30-day test in which carbon steel specimens protected by TSA coatings were immersed in deionized water at ambient temperature in 0.1 MPa CO 2 . Acidity and corrosion potential were monitored during the test and dissolved Al 3+ ion content was analyzed at the completion. Based on experimental results, thermally sprayed aluminum is a viable candidate for corrosion mitigation in CO 2 -containing water as would be encountered in carbon capture and storage applications.

Commercially pure aluminum was arc sprayed on low-carbon manganese steel and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was carried on coating samples in a simulated marine immersion environment at 35 °C. A simple pore network circuit model was used to analyze the data and calculate the corrosion rate, which was estimated to be 5-15 μm/y from the charge transfer resistance value. After 9 months of exposure, the actual corrosion rate was found to be ~5 μm/y. The mechanism of protection offered by thermally sprayed aluminum (TSA) coatings is discussed.

This study assesses the effectiveness of wire arc sprayed aluminum coatings for protecting welded super duplex stainless steel (UNS S32750) in subsea applications. Pitting and crevice corrosion tests were conducted at different potentials in recirculated synthetic seawater maintained at 90 °C with an acidity of 7.5-8.1 pH. After 90 days, the samples were examined, showing no signs of corrosion even in areas where coating defects were present.

A multiscale model is being built in order to better understand and predict high-temperature corrosion and erosion properties of thermal spray coatings and materials in general. The approach uses molecular dynamics to predict diffusion kinetics, constrained free energy to determine reactions, and FEA to simulate structure. To obtain oxidation behavior data for validation, surface polished bulk materials and thermal spray coatings were exposed to various temperatures and exposure times. Oxidation depth and diffusion were assessed by optical emission spectroscopy and cross-sectional SEM examination and surface oxidation in grain and lamellae boundaries was characterized by 3D profilometry and SEM-EDS. Rough validation of the model was achieved using indentation test data, and a more complete validation will be done when high-temperature erosion test results are available.

In twin wire arc spraying process it is possible to use feedstock wires of two different compositions at the same time. As a result of this procedure it can be achieved composite coatings called also as pseudo alloys with modified physical properties. In this study nickel and cobalt based super alloy materials were arc sprayed with pure molybdenum wire to tailor corrosion and wear resistance of the coatings. Coatings for the tests were sprayed using two different twin wire Sulzer Metco arc-spraying units, Smart Arc and OSU 300, operating with suitable spray parameters to produce coatings of good quality. It was already known that these twin wire configurations are producing coatings with differing microstructures. Coating sprayed with the OSU system was clearly finer in structure and one purpose of this study was to measure the effect of the micro structural size on the corrosion and wear properties of the final coatings. Microstructures of the coating materials were studied and analyzed from cross-sectional specimens. Volume fraction of pure molybdenum in the coating matrices was evaluated with simple line method and according to the results volume fraction of pure molybdenum metal is over 50 volume-% in all of these tested composite coatings and higher in materials sprayed with OSU unit. Also the microstructure of the coatings was seen to be finer when OSU was used as was expected. Wear resistance was measured with modified ASTM G65 rubber wheel sand abrasion wear test and corrosion resistance was tested in low pH values and chlorine containing environment according to the ASTM G48 corrosion testing standard. Corrosion testing was carried out at room temperature 22°C and also at higher 50°C temperature. Molybdenum addition is clearly improving the abrasion wear resistance of the tested coating systems. At room temperature also the corrosion resistance is getting better with molybdenum addition but at higher temperature this effect is not so clear.

In order to improve both corrosion and wear resistance of standard plasma sprayed alumina coatings chromia alloyed feedstock powders and high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) spraying as an alternative process were used in this work. Alumina and alumina-chromia powders with different chromia contents (27% and 50%-mass., but with different amount of (Al,Cr) 2 O 3 solid solution formed) were deposited by TopGun HVOF spraying and atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). The coatings were evaluated by optical microscopy, microhardness measurements, XRD and SEM. Abrasion wear resistance of the coatings was tested with the rubber-wheel abrasion test. Corrosion characteristics of the coatings were evaluated by exposure tests at 85 °C for 310 hours at low and high pH conditions. The amount of dissolved elements in solution, as analysed by ICP, was found to be a direct indication of the corrosion resistance of the coatings. Coatings deposited by TopGun HVOF spraying resulted in a denser microstructure, higher microhardness and significantly improved abrasion wear resistance as compared to corresponding coatings deposited by APS. For the tested conditions, corrosion resistance of both APS and HVOF-sprayed alumina coatings was low but significantly improved by chromia addition for both spray processes. However, the content of chromia addition alone does not allow to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of this measure.

Several model Fe- and Ni-based alloys with increased content (up to 30 at.-%) of protecting scale forming elements were developed. High temperature corrosion resistance of bulk alloys as well as thermally sprayed coatings and welded overlays were investigated under the waste power plants simulated atmosphere (500 °C, 100 hours, 75N 2 -20O 2 -4.9Ar-0.1Cl 2 ). Arc and HVOF spraying as well as PTA overlay welding were used to produce the coatings. After an exposure the samples were examined with electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA). It was shown that the protection behaviour of overlay welds depends on the content of alloying elements, although the last is limited because of weldability decrease by high alloying level. High temperature corrosion resistance of thermally sprayed coatings is determined by their porosity, which can be varied over a very broad range depending on the applied spray method. The arc sprayed coatings need an additional post-treatment to close a porosity. Two methods were applied, pre-oxidation treatment in the air and sealing with the commercial sealant. Newly developed iron-based coatings with increased aluminium content (< 20 wt- %) sprayed with HVOF-spraying with powders obtained by means of high energy ball milling demonstrate high corrosion resistance. Selected coatings were evaluated for 1000 h exposure under chlorine-containing salt deposits at the higher temperature (600 °C).

The corrosion behavior of Al alloys, produced by cast and powder (Low Pressure Gas Dynamic Spray or Cold Spray) technologies, was examined in 3% sodium chloride solution from the viewpoint of localized corrosion. The susceptibility to localized corrosion is known to be strongly affected by intermetallic phases present in the alloy’s microstructure. The influence of individual cathodic and anodic intermetallic phases was investigated by using a microelectrochemical setup and by electrochemical methods. The optical and scanning electron microscopy data reveal that the cast and powdered alloys experience localized corrosion due to presence of the intermetallic phases which results in the micro-corrosion effects such as exfoliation corrosion, intergranular or crevice corrosion, and most severely pitting. Cast material has lower corrosion properties because of the higher heterogeneity of the structure as compared with powder sprayed composite.

Hydrogen embrittlement in high strength marine structural steels can occur by improper cathodic protection. In this article the possibility of Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) in high strength steels caused by zinc and aluminium thermal sprayed (TS) coatings has been considered. Provided potential from the TS coatings in marine environments and permissible potential for performing cathodic protection and inhibiting HE has been described. Also effective parameters on HE and prevention methods for HE by thermal sprayed coatings has been reviewed. An effective method for quality stabilizing and potential regulating in anticorrosion TS coatings is utilization of the alloyed materials. Most used material for anticorrosion TS coatings is aluminium that provides relatively moderate potential and low current density and in particular situation can cause HE.

Ti and Ti alloys can be applied to the steels as a protective coating in view of its excellent resistance to corrosive environment. Cold spraying as a new surface engineering technique has potential advantages in Ti coating manufacturing in comparison with conventional thermal spraying techniques. Ti coatings were prepared on a carbon steel substrate by cold spraying via controlling the process condition variables concluding carrying gas, temperature and pressure. The microstructure of coatings was observed by SEM. Potentiodynamic polarization experiments were performed to understand the corrosion behavior of the coatings. The SEM examination showed that the coatings become more compact with increase of molecular weight, pressure and temperature of carrier gas. Potentiodynamic polarization technique was used to measure the corrosion and electrochemical property of coatings deposited under different process conditions and surface conditions. The polarization curves indicated that the coatings which had lower porosity had lower corrosion current. The polishing treatment peeled the rough outer layer including the small pores as well as decreasing of the actual surface area of the coating, leading to the considerable improvement of corrosion resistance.

In-situ plasma spraying (IPS) is a promising process to fabricate composite coatings with in-situ formed thermodynamically stable phases. In the present study, mechanically alloyed Al–12Si and SiO 2 powder was deposited onto an aluminum substrate by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) to obtain a composite coating consist of in-situ formed alumina reinforced hypereutectic Al-18Si matrix alloy. The effect of arc current on the corrosion behavior of the composite coating has been investigated. Corrosion resistance of the composite coatings was analyzed by using the potentiodynamic polarization scanning (PDS) technique. Surface morphology of the coatings before and after the corrosion test was examined by using metallographic methods and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Obtained results are discussed in detail.

Corrosion in the hot gas area of waste incineration plants is a severe problem that often causes premature damage of components. In general, these components are made of base materials, which are not stable in corrosive conditions (boiler steel). Thermal spraying is an alternative to the most usual process cladding, which has the potential to create cost-efficient protective coatings. Until now, there are still not enough experiences about quality assurance (porosity, oxides) and long run behaviour inside the incineration plants with sprayed coatings. Since many years, ATZ Entwicklungs zentrum is involved in the development and/or advancement of materials, technologies, and applications of thermal spraying for corrosion protection. Currently, pipes, coated with different materials and different technologies are tested by different strategies (corrosion tests under laboratory scale and/or directly in incineration plants).

Cored wires and high velocity arc spraying technique (HVAS) were applied to produce Zn-Al-Mg and Zn-Al-Mg-Re alloy coatings on low carbon steel substrates. And the effects of rare-earth metal on microstructure and corrosion resistance of the Zn-Al-Mg coating were investigated. The microstructures and mechanical properties were studied by SEM, EDS and XRD. The coatings show a typical aspect of layered thermal sprayed material structure. SEM results revealed that the addition of small amount of REM to the cored wires would result in a fine grained structure in the coating layer together with a dense microstructure, which is the reason for the adhesion strength enhancement and the porosity reducing of the coating. And the electrochemical corrosion mechanisms of the coatings were discussed. Chemical analysis of the coating indicated the composition to be Zn-16.5Al-5.9Mg-4.6O-RE (wt%). The phases of the coatings are Zn, Al 5 Mg 11 Zn 4 , MgZn 2 and Al 3 Mg 2 mainly, together with oxide ZnO, ZnAl 2 O 4 , and MgAl 2 O 4 . The electrochemical corrosion behaviors of Zn-Al-Mg-RE coating were investigated in 5%NaCl solution comparing with Zn-Al-Mg coating. Electrochemical measurements in the forms of potential-time and potentiodynamic polarization tests showed that such two coatings behaved excellent electrochemical corrosion resistance in salt solution, and the Zn-Al-Mg-RE coating was much more stable. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results revealed that small amount of rare-earth metal can not promote to form the passive film but it could enhance the surface property of the coating extraordinarily, which will has a great effect on the corrosion behaviors of the coating. Keywords: Zn-Al-Mg-RE coating; high velocity arc spraying; cored wires; potentiodynamic polarization; electrochemical impedance spectroscopy