Additive brazing is a highly advanced process for producing functional and highly durable coatings. By creating a material bond between components through diffusion without the use of flux, dense, wear-resistant, and crack-free layers are formed, which are particularly useful in areas such as wear protection and the reclamation of components. The ability to adjust the coating thickness and hardness makes the process extremely flexible, allowing it to meet the specific requirements of a wide range of applications. Particularly innovative is the ability to precisely and locally braze using laser energy, further enhancing the efficiency and precision of the process. This paper provides an overview of the process, properties of brazed coatings, and applications.

In this paper, oxidation behavior of three hardmetal coating compositions with different Cr 3 C 2 content deposited on 1.4828 (AISI 309) or 2.4856 (Alloy 625) substrates was investigated. Heat treatment was performed in a tube furnace in a slight air flow (2 l/h) in the temperature range 500-900 °C for 2–32 days.

Cold spraying mixed metal-ceramic powders creates metallic matrix composites, but typically achieves low hard phase content in deposits. We investigated this challenge using various hard phases (SiC, diamond, WC, W) with Al and Cu metal matrices. Our results reveal that density difference—not hardness—between components primarily determines deposition efficiency. When using Al with similarly dense materials (diamond, SiC), deposit compositions remained comparable despite hardness variations. However, mixing Al with 50 vol.% of WC or W produced deposits containing 57.9 vol.% and 79.8 vol.% hard phases, respectively. Based on these findings, we established a ballistic theory-based criterion for effective hard particle deposition.

In nuclear fusion reactors, the first wall is the name given to the surface which is in direct contact with the plasma. A part of it is the divertor which is a device that removes fusion products from the plasma and impurities that have entered into it from the vessel lining. It is covered with water cooled tiles which have to withstand high temperatures and high heat fluxes. Moreover, resistance to neutron bombardment, low tritium absorption and low hydrogen permeation are additional demands. One materials concept under research is the application of a Reduced Activation Ferritic Martensitic Steel (RAFM) as a structural material with a tungsten protective coating. Since there is a considerable thermal mismatch between, a functional graded materials (FGM) concept was proposed. As the formation of undesired intermetallic Fe-W phases as well as oxidation should be avoided, cold gas spraying was chosen as manufacturing process. Two powder blends of EUROFER97 RAFM steel and a fine tungsten powder cut on the one hand and a coarser one on the other hand were tested in different ratios. The coatings were characterized with respect to their porosity and surface structure. Furthermore, the deposition efficiencies for steel and tungsten were determined each. It turned out, that the deposition process is a complex mixed situation of bonding and erosion mechanisms as the deposition windows of these very different materials obviously diverge. Thus, a lower working gas temperature and pressure was advantageous in some cases. Unexpectedly, the coarser tungsten powder in general enabled to achieve better results.

A common method to combat abrasive wear and prolong the life of a component is to hardface the exposed region by overlay welding. State of the art coatings for these applications consist of a nickel-based ductile matrix with hard tungsten carbide particles embedded in it. An alternative with low environmental impact in combination with high performance to cost ratio is to use iron-based alloys. Critical in affecting the abrasive and impact wear resistance of these alloys is the coating quality e.g. porosity, cracks, dilution from the substrate combined with chemistry, size and volume fraction of the hard phase particles formed during solidification. Selection of the process parameters is critical for producing sound clads with expected properties. This paper focuses on the properties of PTA welded and laser cladded M2, M4 and A11 high speed steel coatings. Clad quality, hardness, abrasive wear resistance and microstructure are presented and interpreted with support of thermodynamic simulations.

Multilayer high-speed cladding by injection of a M2 steel powder with 0.82%C, 4.7%Mo, 6.4%W, 4.1%Cr, 2.02%V, 0.3%Mn, as chemical composition, in a melted bath produced using a CO 2 continuous wave laser connected to a x-y-z coordinate table was tested in order to increase the wear resistance and heat stability of tool active surfaces made of 0.45%C steel. Layers made by different laser runs were characterized by macro and microstructure analysis, as well as a phase identification analysis by X-ray diffractometry, micro-hardening analysis and hardness testing on the coated layer surfaces in order to establish the optimal cladding condition. Lathe tools made using this technique showed a good ability to maintain their cutting power during steel shaping.

Wear resistance of materials in very aggressive environment of different industrial sectors like drilling, mining, cutting, etc, appears to be critical and many efforts have been made to limit the major economic loss that represents a broken or damaged tool. The objective of the CLADIAM project (G5ST-CT-2002-50179) is to develop a cladding technique to coat complex parts based on an innovative cladding material composed of diamond pellets and cast spherical tungsten carbide particles using an automated high power diode laser (HPLD) equipment. The result of these two and a half years of work has led to the finalization of following techniques: A pelletizing alloy that takes into account the constraints of laser cladding, Enrobing of diamond particles to avoid their damage, An industrial technique, technically and economically efficient, of laser cladding that allows the realization of complex shapes. The combination of a new technique of wear and abrasion tests has led to the characterization of the obtained cladding. The results have been compared with the tests on industrial parts in severe and even extreme wear conditions. The development of this new cladding technology has been possible thanks to the use, the characterization and the optimization of specific cladding nozzles associated with the special beam of high power diode laser. The results obtained are very encouraging and open the doors to new claddings that combine the specific advantages of diamond and tungsten carbides for the nature of cladding, but also the fineness of the structure, the improvement of behaviour in wear conditions, the small thermal impact of the parts, some of the well known advantages of laser cladding.

WC-Co and WC-CoCr coatings were deposited with the JP-5000 liquid fuel HP/HVOF system using various thermal spray powder types. The microstructure, microhardness, deposition rate and wear resistance of the coatings were characterized. The results show that these coatings provide significantly more protection from dry three-body abrasion than from dry sand erosion, when compared to mild steel. They also provide more advantage at low angles of erosion than at high angles of erosion. Furthermore, the coating composition was found to have a significant effect on the wear rates, with WC-CoCr providing the best wear resistance even after taking the higher cost of the powder into account. The powder manufacturing route had only a secondary effect on the wear rates, except in the case of fused and crushed powder, which produced an inferior coating.

Tungsten caibide (WC) thermal spray coatings are being used for wear protection on selected components of aircraft. Tungsten carbide coatings are being used on aircraft flap tracks and fan and compressor blade mid-span dampers. However, a larger use of tungsten carbide coatings is being considered for other commercial aircraft applications where it would be used as a replacement for chrome plating. For instance, WC coatings are currently being tested on aircraft landing gear parts. One factor that affects the suitability of WC coatings for these applications is the fatigue life of the coated part. Coatings, whether chrome plating or thermal spray coating, can reduce the fatigue life of the part compared to an uncoated part. This study compares the fatigue life of uncoated 6061 aluminum specimens to the fatigue life of WC thermal sprayed coated 6061 aluminum specimens. The relation between the residual stress level in the coating and the fatigue life of the specimens is also investigated. Fatigue tests were run on cantilever flat beam specimens that were coated on one side. Specimens were cycled in bending so that the coatings experienced tensile fatigue stresses. Residual stress levels for each type of coating were determined using the Modified Layer Removal Method on specimens processed along with the cantilever flat beam specimens. Test results show that the fatigue life of the WC coated specimens is directly related to the level of compressive residual stress in the coating.

WC-Co-Cr powders with different WC particle size have been sprayed by the HVOF process. At constant spraying conditions the powders give coatings of different quality. The deposition efficiency during spraying of powders containing large WC particles was found to be low compared to powders with finer WC grains. In addition the amounts of porosity and cracks were different. The coatings have been characterised by different methods. Erosion and erosion-corrosion tests showed that the WC particle size also influence the wear resistance of the coatings. Small WC particle size was found to be beneficial. Chemical composition of the matrix was also found to be decisive for the coating properties. An increase of the chromium content improved the erosion-corrosion resistance.

Functionally gradient composites were spray formed via vacuum plasma spray deposition using tungsten cylindrical substrates. Materials deposited included tungsten-hafnium alloys and M-2 tool steel. Some deposits included micro-laminate layering with hafiiium alloys sprayed within the tungsten-hafnium matrix. Vacuum plasma deposition was shown to provide a viable means of producing functionally gradient composites from tungsten base materials. This was determined both by microstructural characterization of deposit structures and by measuring the compressive properties of the materials. Compression testing of the W-Hf matrix composites demonstrated compression strength of 1,552 MPa (225 ksi). Compression strengths of the tungsten/steel composite averaged 1,068 MPa (155 ksi). Failure of the W-Hf samples occurred via fracture of the tungsten/hafnium matrix whereas the tungsten/steel composites failed within the wrought tungsten core.

Two different W-Co-C powders were used in three deposition devices, the Super D-Gun, Jet Kote, and JP-5000 to produce coatings for laboratory immersion tests in molten zinc and %55Al-Zn. Resistance was evaluated as time to failure. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to characterize the structures ssid failure mechanism. All coatings were found to fail when the molten metal breached the coating thickness at weak spots and spread out over the underlying interface to lift the coating away from the underlying 316L substrate. These weak spots were "pits" on one Super D-Gun coating (the most resistant coating) and cracks on all the other coatings. No diffusion of zinc through the tungsten carbide coatings was observed.

The high quality of the thermally sprayed tungsten carbide coatings has been attributed to high particle velocity and relatively low particle temperature. Such thermal spray conditions can be obtained with the HVOF spray process. In comparison to the plasma spray process, in the HVOF spray process the high particle velocity and optimum particle temperature have been associated with very high gas velocity (>1000 m/s) and a relatively low gas temperature (< 2700 °C). In this work tungsten carbide coatings (WC-17Co) were sprayed by the HVOF process with a low and a high gas velocity of 1050 and 1560 m/s, respectively. The spray tests were carried out also with different hydrogen/oxygen ratios. The coatings were abrasion tested in order to find out how gas velocity and the fuel/oxygen ratio affect the coating quality and wear rate. Wear rates of the HVOF sprayed coatings were found to decrease with the higher combustion gas velocity. The coating quality and wear rate became also less sensitive to gas parameters with the increasing gas velocity. The coating microhardness and wear rate were also compared to hot isostatic pressed (HIP) reference material from the same spray powder lot. The HIP sintered test piece was found to be less wear resistant than the corresponding thermally sprayed coatings.

The full potential of rolling element bearings operating in specialised conditions such as high speed and corrosive environments are realised using surface coatings. Tungsten Carbide coating by thermal spray HVOF and D-Gim processes are considered for these applications. An experimental approach using a modified four-ball machine simulates the tribological conditions within a rolling element bearing. The fatigue failure modes of the tungsten carbide coating in rolling contact with steel and silicon nitride are examined using conventional surface analysis techniques. The stress fields within the coating are examined using traditional contact theory and residual stress measurement by X-ray diffraction. The residual stress measurements of the pre-test coating, the contacting surface and the fatigue failures are described. Results of residual stress relating to orientation, failure depth, coating thickness are discussed along with the fatigue failure mode.