Carbon fiber (CF) composites are widely used in the aerospace industry due to their light weight and favorable mechanical properties. Nevertheless, applying protective coatings (e.g. erosion resistance) through thermal spraying presents specific challenges with defects such as distortion, oxidation, and poor coating adhesion. This study presents a new technique that combines electroless plating processes and thermal spray for depo-siting metals onto polymer-reinforced composites. Samples of low melting polyaryletherletone (LMPAEK) thermoplastic polymer reinforced with carbon fibers aligned in the normal direction (ZRT film) are plated (with copper, silver, or nickel) to provide an adhesion layer for the thermal spray processes. Subsequently, pure tin and titanium (i.e. Ti-6Al-4V) is deposited on the samples using High Velocity Air-Fuel (HVAF) and atmospheric plasma spray (APS) processes. Cross-sections of the resulting coatings are compared, and the materials are characterized for surface roughness, cracks and pores.

Electroless plating was employed for making copper (Cu)-high density polyethylene (HDPE) core-shell particles for following coating deposition by flame spraying. Our previous works already reported large-scale fabrication of HDPE/Cu composite coatings against corrosion, biofouling and ageing for marine applications. In this work, we further investigated tribological behaviours of the HDPE and the HDPE/Cu composite coatings. The structure of the composite coatings was designed via controlling the thickness of the copper shell coated on the composite powder. The result shows that the addition of copper slightly decreased the anti-wear property of the composite coating. The tribology mechanisms of the composite coating and the HDPE coating were discussed.

This paper describes a new composite coating technology developed for hot dip galvanizing rolls used in automotive manufacturing. The multilayer coating consists of HVOF sprayed WC and electroless Ni-P plating. Coating surfaces and cross-sections are examined and adhesion strength, friction, and wear resistance are measured. In addition, changes in surface roughness are recorded on galvanizing rolls after three months of service.

Microstructure of electroless plated Ni-Co coating on plasma-sprayed Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr coating which was previously applied onto lCrl8Ni9Ti stainless steel was characterized, and its tribological properties during sliding against different materials were evaluated. It was found that the electroless plated Ni-Co coating on the Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr coating had lower cobalt content and a finer structure than that deposited directly on lCrl8Ni9Ti stainless steel. All the self-mated as-sprayed Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr coating, the self-mated electroless plated Ni-Co coating on the Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr coating, the self-mated electroless plated Ni-Co coating on lCrl8Ni9Ti stainless steel and the frictional pair of the electroless plated Ni-Co coating on lCrl8Ni9Ti stainless steel against the Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr coating exhibited higher friction and wear coefficients during sliding. The frictional pair of the electroless plated Ni-Co coating on the Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr coating against the Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr coating displayed excellent tribological properties with a friction coefficient of 0.10 and a wear coefficient less than 10 -6 mm 3 Nm -1 during dry sliding in air. The electroless plated Ni-Co coating on the Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr coating somewhat reduced friction and wear coefficients during sliding against plasma sprayed TiO 2 coating. The above results could be attributed to that the electroless plated Ni-Co coating on the Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr coating could weaken the adhesive intensity between the suitable counterpart materials during sliding.