Extreme High -Speed Laser Cladding (EHLA) is a new process category of laser cladding. In this study, EH-LA layer was characterized by comparing with conventional laser cladding (LC) layer. Basic SUS316L layers, as well as WC-reinforced SUS316L layers, were formed on SUS304 substrates using both LC and EHLA processes. The macroscopic morphology, microstructure, microhardness, wear resistance, and residual stress of the four types of layers were evaluated. As a result, EHLA layers exhibited slightly higher micro-hardness and less wear loss than that of LC layers, despite the presence of more micropores. This can be due to their finer dendritic structures. Furthermore, residual stress of EHLA layer was lower than that of LC layer due to those micropores. Additionally, EHLA can add up to 45 wt.% WC into SUS316L layer without crack formation, resulting in higher wear resistance than that of LC where crack formation occurred at 25 wt.% WC. This enhanced crack resistance in EHLA is believed to be due to the less heat input during deposition.

In Laser Cladding, a differentiation must be made between cladding by brazing and cladding by welding regarding process parameters and the resulting material properties. Results of investigations of bronze cladding on steel parts produced by Laser Deposition Brazing will be presented. This means that a strong metallurgical bond is realized by diffusion processes by Laser Deposition Brazing, but the steel base material is not molten. The coatings were characterized by hardness distribution measurements from the bronze cladding to the steel substrate, by measuring the size of the heat-affected zone and by porosity measurements. This combination of a steel substrate and a local bronze coating is used industrially in many tribological applications, such as plain bearings or hydraulic pumps etc. The bronze offers excellent tribological properties. In some cases, the bronze is used as a complete solid part. However, applying the bronze locally to a steel base body instead of using a complete solid bronze component, offers the advantage of the higher modulus of elasticity of the steel, which provides greater stability of shape with regard to possible elastic deformations as these coated parts are exposed to high mechanical loads, it is essential that a high coating quality is achieved by laser cladding and that the properties are extensively and purposefully characterized. The production technology, the characterization and the industrial applications of such bronze coated steel parts are presented and explained in this contribution.

Restoring the damaged shaft parts to extend their service life is an economical and environmentally friendly solution. In recent years, the laser metal deposition (LMD) process has received increasing attention in component restoration. However, the residual stress and deformation inevitably occur due to the heat input, leading to the deflection of the repaired shafts. Therefore, this study aims to minimize the deflection of LMD-repaired shaft parts through parameter optimization. The width and height of the LMD deposit as a function of the laser power and traverse speed were achieved by fitting a series of one-pass experimental results. Based on it, the finite element analysis was conducted to clarify the effect of the repairing conditions (e.g., laser power, traverse speed, and initial substrate temperature) on the deflection and residual stress distribution of the shaft parts after LMD repairing. A 304 stainless steel round bar with a diameter of 6 mm was served as the component to be repaired. The deposit was 316L stainless steel, whose deposition process was realized by the element birth and death technique. The results indicated that the free-end of the specimen experienced complicated deformation during the LMD and cooling process. After cooling off, the substrate presents a residual compressive stress along the axial direction. Moreover, the substrate deflection can be reduced by improving the initial substrate temperature. This study provided an important reference for optimizing the process parameters in repairing the shaft parts.

Erosion-corrosion is a severe problem observed in the coal fired thermal power plant boilers which lead to premature failure of boiler tubes. Thermal spray coatings have been applied successfully to check the erosion-corrosion of boiler tubes. In the present research work NiCrTiCRe coating powders were successfully deposited on T22 boiler steel by two different coating processes i.e. high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) and cold spray process. The performance of the coatings in actual power plant boiler were investigated and compared. The uncoated and coated T22 boiler steels were subjected the superheater zone of the coal fired boiler for a total of 15 consequent cycles. The thickness loss data and weight change analysis were used to establish kinetics of the erosion-corrosion. X-ray diffraction, surface field emission scanning electron microscope/energy dispersive spectroscopy (FE-SEM/EDS) techniques were used in the present work for the analysis. The results of thickness loss data indicated that the cold sprayed coating performed better in thermal power plant boiler environment.

This work focuses on the laser cladding process and the behavior or interaction between the powder particles and the laser beam, specifically examining how various process parameters might affect the creation of melt pool formations. The experiment focused on examining the influence of laser intensity and other important factors on the amount of metal in the substrate of 316L stainless steel, particularly while utilizing Inconel 625 powder. The study was conducted by utilizing cross-sectional images and quantifying the ratio of areas of the melted substrate material across a sliced cross-sectional area. The study also investigated the influence of recirculation patterns resulting from the Marangoni convection force on the formation of the melt region. The study's results indicate that a low powder feed rate is preferable, which in this study was 5 g/min, and provides better results with a symmetrical and profound melt profile. The melt shifts to asymmetrical profiles when the feed rate increases significantly over this value. The primary cause of this phenomenon is attributed to the Marangoni forces and the momentum transfer generated by the powder jets. The investigation also emphasizes the complex interplay among the process factors and highlights the crucial role of laser source power in triggering a fast escalation in the volume of melted material. In addition, the study supports the idea that maintaining the laser energy input as a constant helps to create a consistency in the total melt area even when the cladding speed is increased.

Light alloys are being investigated as an alternative to ferrous-based engineering components. The manufacturing of such components requires a surface modification step necessary to eliminate the top surface's poor wear and corrosion response for improved functionality. Thermally sprayed cermet coatings offer improved surface resistance to wear and/or corrosion. This work presents a customized composition of WC-CoCr feedstock cut in fine and coarse powder size distribution (PSD) to fabricate different coatings on aluminium alloy and steel substrates using two high velocity spray techniques. The WC-CoCr coatings sprayed using the high velocity air-fuel (HVAF) technique at varied parameters consist of six different coatings (four thick, ~ 200 μm and two thin ones, 60-80 μm) to investigate the relationship between processing conditions, microstructure, and performance. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electro-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) offered a comprehensive characterization of the respective coatings. Micro indentation, dry sliding wear, dry sand abrasion, and cavitation erosion tests conducted on the samples show the performance of the coatings based on the processing techniques and spray conditions. However, despite the similarities in the microstructural makeup of the coatings and the measured micro indentation hardness of the coatings (1000-1300 HV0.1), their respective specific wear rate (SWR) varied based on spray processing techniques and the substrate on which the coatings were deposited. Three of the HVAF coatings showed ~ 60 % more wear on the aluminium alloy substrate compared to the same coating deposited on a steel substrate. However, irrespective of the substrate used the HVAF coatings showed better wear resistance than the HVOF coating. The dry sand abrasion wear results of the two thick HVAF coatings show them superior to the HVOF coating in the three-body wear experiment conducted. The cavitation erosion resistance of the coatings varied based on the processing conditions and the driving mechanisms but the best two were the AF-2 and AF-6 samples.

In glass mold industry, a surface treatment by laser cladding of a Ni based powder on cast iron is performed with a 4-kW continuous diode laser. For this, a robot programming method named "Wavering" was used. This method allows to cover large surfaces (higher than 5 mm). The cast iron substrate used during this work is employed for its heat exchange properties in glass mold Industry. However, it has drawbacks which are weak wear, corrosion, and abrasion resistance. Conventional techniques used to protect the molds, like Plasma Transferred Arc (PTA), affect the molds microstructure, but also the thermal and mechanical properties. The laser cladding of the Ni based alloy allows to protect the molds without affecting the cast iron thermal properties (and reduce the Heat Affected Zone length). The purpose of this research is to produce a well bonded Ni based melted powder without pores or cracks on large and curvilinear surfaces with the wanted geometry. The impact of the process parameters such as laser power, scanning speed and frequency on the coating geometry was investigated with an experimental design technique using the ANOVA (Analysis of variance) method. It was used to determine and represent the influence of each process parameter on the coating geometry (width, height, and circularity). This ANOVA analysis led to a parameter combination to optimize the Ni coating and the cast iron substrate quality by considering the industrial geometrical constraints. The bonding quality and the cracking behavior are also investigated on optimized parameters. Finally, it appears that laser cladding process leads to a better coating on curvilinear surfaces than other process like PTA.

High-pressure die casting (HPDC) is a well-established manufacturing process used in the automotive sector to make high-precision components. The necessity to reduce fuel consumption increases the use of low-density components in the automotive industry. Corrosion induced by molten metal is one of many failure modes for dies, changing the die's geometry and surface roughness. All combined wear changes the dimensional precision of the manufactured parts but also the surface quality of the components. Many additive deposition methods are applied to decrease wear and recover the surface. Thermally sprayed coatings can improve the surface properties and recover the geometry of the die caused by the aluminum attack. The main objective of this work is to observe the behavior of the H13, Cr3C2-25NiCr, and WC10Co4Cr coatings deposited by HVOF and HVAF, tested against Aluminum corrosion and Die-soldering tests. After dissolution, the chromium carbide reacts with the aluminum, creating a tough intermetallic interface, and raising the extraction tensile stress. After Aluminum corrosion tests, it was observed that the WC 10Co 4Cr HVAF coating presented low adhesion to the aluminum with no observed coating failure due to the formation of intermetallic. Die soldering tests indicated that the WC 10Co 4Cr protects the substrate, resulting in lower extraction tensile stress than H13 base material and other HVOF coatings. It was possible to observe that WC 10Co 4Cr HVAF coating showed results comparable to AlCrN PVD coating.

Sensors to measure gas velocities in high temperature flows need to be robust, low-profile so that they do not obstruct the flow, and easy to apply on metal surfaces. Thermal spray offers a method of making low-cost sensors that can be applied on large areas. Plasma spray was used to deposit an electrically insulating layer of alumina on a 316 stainless steel block. A 17 mm diameter heater coil was deposited on top of the alumina layer by spraying Nichrome from a twin wire arc spray system through a 3D printed polymer mask. A thermocouple junction was built next to the heater by inserting an insulated Constantan wire through a vertical hole drilled in the steel block and spraying steel on the top of the hole to close it and form an electrical connection between the wire and the surrounding substrate. The junction of the wire and the steel formed a thermocouple whose output voltage was calibrated. A flow loop was built to calibrate the sensor by passing air over it at velocities of up to 5 m/s. A series of 2 min long voltage pulses were applied to the heater, increasing its temperature by approximately 5°-10°C each time, before letting it cool. A calibration curve was developed of the air velocity as a function of the time constant for cooling of the sensor.

The properties of the coating depend, among other things, on the preparation of the substrate surface and the spray parameters. One of the key properties of the coating is its adhesion to the substrate. Suitable preparation of the substrate surface has a great influence on the adhesion of the thermal spray coating. This work aims to study the influence of surface preparation on roughness of substrate and the resulting surface adhesion of coating. Another aim was to compare the effect of the chosen adhesion measurement method. A series of measurements of the roughness of the samples after grit blasting was performed. The effect of using new and used corundum was also taken into account. The selected coating for testing was TWAS (twin Wire Arc Spray) sprayed Zn15Al. The substrate material was low carbon steel 1.0570. The following adhesion measurement methods were chosen for the experiment - adhesion tensile test according to ASTM C633 - 79 standard, method using a special sample holder based on the ASTM C633 - 79 standard. In addition, a series of measurements were performed using Elcometer 510 Model T.

The cavitation performance of wear resistant cermet coatings can deteriorate in a corrosive environment. This investigation therefore considered the cavitation resistance in seawater of thermally sprayed High Velocity Oxy Fuel (HVOF) WC-10Co-4Cr coatings deposited on two different substrate materials of carbon steel and austenitic stainless steel. Coatings were deposited using industrially optimised parameters. Cavitation tests were conducted following the ASTM G32 test method in indirect mode, where there was a gap of 0.5 mm between the sonicator and the test surface. A submersed copper cooling coil controlled the temperature of the seawater. The cumulative cavitation erosion mass loss and cavitation erosion rate results are reported. The eroded substrate and coating surfaces were analysed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) in combination with energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX) to understand the failure modes. Coating phases were identified using x-ray diffraction. Results are discussed in terms of the cavitation failure modes and cavitation erosion rates for both the substrate and coated surfaces.

The objective of this work is to assemble an aluminum alloy to a steel to reduce the final mass of this assembly. Doing that, cold spray is considered as an efficient solution. Surfaces are previously prepared with a texturing laser to improve the adhesion of the coating on the substrate. Deposits are slightly rough (Ra < 10 μm), porosity is less than 1% and adhesion is higher than 80 MPa for textured surfaces. These high values are also due to the high filling rates in holes (100% for steel and 65% for aluminum alloy). Shear values obtained through the combination of laser texturing and cold spray for multi-material assembly are of 90 MPa (a heat treatment of 3h at 300°C applied on the joining point improves mechanical strength and increases it by three). By analogy with linear joining methods such as Laser Welding (190 MPa), the values obtained in uniaxial tension by this assembly method are significantly lower (around 50 MPa). It can be explained by the nature of the joining bead, which is made of aluminum alloy.

Cold spraying (CS) of high strength materials, e.g., Inconel 625 is still challenging due to the limited material deformability and thus high critical velocities. Further fine tuning and optimization of cold spray process parameters is required, to reach higher particle impact velocities as well as temperatures, while avoiding nozzle clogging. Only then, sufficiently high amounts of well-bonded particle-substrate and particle-particle interfaces can be achieved, assuring high cohesive strength and minimum amounts of porosities. In this study, Inconel 625 powder was cold sprayed on carbon steel substrates using N 2 as propellant gas under different refined spray parameter sets and powder sizes for a systematic evaluation. Coating microstructure, porosity, electrical conductivity, hardness, cohesive strength and residual stress were characterized in as-sprayed condition. Increasing the process gas temperature or pressure leads to low coating porosity of less than 1 % and higher electrical conductivity. The as-sprayed coatings show microstructures with highly deformed particles and well bonded internal boundaries. X-ray diffraction reveals that powder and deposits are present as γ- solid-solution phase without any precipitations. By work hardening and peening effects, the deposits show high microhardness and compressive residual stresses. With close to bulk material properties, the optimized deposits should fulfill criteria for industrial applications.

Successful cold spray of tool steels and other hard steels would unlock several opportunities, including the repair of molds as well as ships and heavy industry components. However, the high hardness of typical atomized steel powders strongly limits their cold sprayability. It has been recently demonstrated that heat treatment in a rotating furnace can significantly improve H13 cold sprayability via softening and agglomeration. In this work, this powder modification method is extended to a range of transformation hardenable steels: 4340, SS420, A588, 1040 and P20. The results show that powder heat treatment improves the powder deposition efficiency and the quality of the final cold sprayed coating, probably as the result of the decreased powder micro-hardness. The effects of the powder heat treatment atmosphere, a key parameter, will also be presented and discussed.

Hybrid aerosol deposition (HAD) has been proposed recently as a new coating regime to deposit homogeneous ceramic coatings via the utilization of mesoplasma and solid particle deposition. This study will discuss the implementation of HAD for the deposition of alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) coatings on 304 stainless steel and aluminum substrates, and evaluation of the hardness and Young’s modulus using a nanoindentation method to clarify the through-thickness properties. Dense and uniform coatings with a nanocrystalline structure were fabricated on both substrate materials. The fabricated HAD coatings consisted of α-Al 2 O 3 phase. The hardness and Young’s modulus distributions along the through-thickness direction showed a significant difference across the coating-substrate interface and tended to show a slight decrease by 10-15% as the measured position went close the surface. Increasing the hardness and Young’s modulus on the substrate side near the interface is presumably related to the peeing effect of the substrate as well as the increase of interface roughness during the room temperature impact consolidation (RTIC) and deformation of the hard ceramic particles on the substrate. The decrease in the coating’s mechanical properties along the through-thickness direction is considered to be related to the particle deformation tendency during the coating build-up. At the beginning stage of the deposition, initial particles are impacting on a metallic substrate which is ductile enough to facile plastic deformation and the deposited layer can have an enough hammering effect by the subsequent impacting particles. The hardness and Young’s modulus in this location are 15.6 GPa and 246 GPa, respectively, and the highest through the thickness in case of the stainless steel substrate. However, the later particles are impacting on a hard ceramic surface (initially formed HAD Al 2 O 3 layers), which hardly undergo plastic deformation or led to less particle deformation. In addition, through-thickness measurements revealed that the deposited coatings on the stainless steel substrate showed higher hardness than deposited coatings on aluminum substrates. Thus, the stainless steel enhances the degree of deformation of the deposited particles, and the resulted smaller crystallite size and strain lead to increased hardness and modulus.

Laser cladding is a technology that uses high-energy-density lasers to quickly melt and solidify alloy powder on the surface of the metal substrate to form a cladding layer with good performance. Especially, martensitic stainless steel is widely used as a cladding material due to its high hardness and wear resistance. In this work, the martensitic stainless steel layers were fabricated on the C45 steel substrate by the laser cladding with different process parameters. The results show that holes in the cladding layer is unavoidable. The laser cladding process parameters have the important influence on the residual stress in the cladding layer. Under the action of residual stresses, the holes in the cladding layer will be the source of cracks, which will cause cracks in the cladding layer.

The amorphous Fe-based coating was fabricated on 304 stainless steel matrix by high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF). The microstructure, friction properties and wear mechanism of the coating were mainly analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometer, Vickers microhardness tester, friction and wear tester, three-dimensional optical profilometer. Results show that: most of the coatings were amorphous, and the amorphous content increased first and then decreased with the increase of heat input. When the spraying parameters are kerosene flow rate 21 L/h, oxygen flow rate 56 m 3 /h, powder feeding rate 35 g/min, spraying distance 360 mm, the coating amorphous content is up to 84%, the hardness is over 842 HV 0.2 , the wear resistance advances over 2.9 times than the matrix.

In thermal spraying, one of the fundamental elements to achieving good bonding strength of the applied coating is surface preparation. Traditionally grit blasting using hard particles such as corundum is used to achieve suitable roughness on the substrate. Lately, there is an effort to find a suitable alternative from ecological and economical aspects. A promising possibility is laser texturing which enables the preparation of defined structures on the surface. Within a research project, procedures are developed to texture various substrates to direct application of HVOF coatings. The main goal is to achieve speeds of texturing comparable to grit blasting – more than 500 mm 2 /s while ensuring good bonding strength of the applied coating. This study focuses on HVOF spraying of Stellite 6 and WC-CoCr Coating. Selected substrates are steel, and then materials that cannot be traditionally grit blasted – nitrided steel and alumina ceramics. The study presents the analysis of laser textures on substrates, analysis of coating substrate-coating interface, and adhesion tests by tensile test. The most suitable textures – regarding the processing speed and achieved adhesion are selected.

The formation of Nickel coatings on stainless steel substrates and YSZ (Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia) on NiCrAlY in the Atmospheric Plasma Spray (APS) process is investigated. Coating formation over a substrate with an arbitrary shape (an inclined step in this paper) is considered. The topography of the coatings, as well as their microstructure, e.g., porosity, average thickness, and average roughness, are evaluated. An algorithm, which is based on the Monte-Carlo stochastic model, is employed. The significant difference between the coating temperature and that of the substrate leads to the formation of residual thermal stresses. These stresses are analyzed using Object Oriented Finite-element software (OOF) developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). An image of the cross-section of the coating is imported into the code, which utilizes an adaptive meshing technique and Finite- Element Method to calculate residual thermal stresses. The maximum stress in the coatings occurs at the interface between the coating and the substrate. The coatings' topography and microstructure are compared with those of the experiments.

In our laboratory, we have developed a method to simultaneously inject different powders from the central axis direction and radial direction of the cold spray nozzle and are producing a composite coating by this method. In the previous research of our laboratory, an Al-12Si alloy coating with excellent wear resistance was produced by micro-forging assisted cold spray using the simultaneous nozzle injection method of powder in the axial and radial directions. Here, Al- 12Si alloy, which has excellent wear resistance, was used for the coating-formed particles, and stainless steel was used for the micro-forging particles. However, because the micro-forging particles were hollow, they remained in the coating. In this paper, we evaluated the influence of increasing the mixing ratio of micro-forging particles instead of solid (no holes) micro-forging particles on the coating structure. At the same time, the behaviors of particles by computational fluid dynamics are also investigated.