Thermal spraying (APS and HVOF) of an agglomerated nanostructured powder, based on the composition of a commercial martensitic steel, is introduced. The nanostructure of the produced powder is examined by means of microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The influence of the two different processes on crucial properties such as porosity, microhardness, adhesion, and wear resistance is studied. High wear resistance is noted for both coatings. The HVOF coating, especially, showed better wear performance in comparison with the APS coating and the bulk martensitic steel. The superiority of the HVOF coating over the APS coating regarding the aforementioned properties is attributed to a higher retention of the nanostructure of the starting powder, higher peening and relatively low oxidation.

The aim of this study was to investigate the microstructure (including surface roughness, microstructure and microhardness) of cold sprayed copper coatings on 2017 Al alloy, before and after annealing at 350°C for 1h. It seemed that keeping constant the powder flow rate and increasing the gas pressure from 2.0 to 2.5 MPa, the surface roughness of the coating tended to decrease, while the thickness of the coating tended to increase. Also, it seemed that keeping constant the pressure and increasing the powder flow rate from 22 to 130 g/min, the surface roughness and the thickness of the coating tended to increase. The microstructural study of the coatings after etching revealed particle interfaces and in some cases grain boundaries. Twins were observed in some of the coatings. Negligible porosity, absence of cracks and good adhesion of the coatings to the substrate were observed. The microhardness of the coatings varied between 95 HV 0.3 and 150 HV 0.3 for the different employed cold sprayed conditions. After coatings’ annealing the microhardness of all the coatings (cold sprayed and HVOF sprayed) decreased. The aforementioned results were compared with those of HVOF coating.

Nanostructured and conventional Al 2 O 3 powders have been plasma sprayed, under the same parameters, to produce coatings on 304 stainless steel. The nanopowder was fabricated by mechanical attrition techniques and composed of agglomerates of nanoparticles, whereas the conventional powder consisted of solid granules. In order to maintain the beneficial effect of the nanostructure in the final coating, a fraction of the powder’s nanostructure should be retained in the coating after spraying. Dissimilarities were observed between the two types of coating, regarding porosity, roughness, deposition efficiency and α-Al 2 O 3 to γ-Al 2 O 3 proportions, which are related with the different percentages of semimolten particles in the coatings. The nanocoatings retained a higher percentage of semimolten particles than the conventional coatings, owing to the higher porosity of the nanoparticle agglomerates, as compared to the conventional solid granules. The molten part of both conventional and nanostructured coatings consisted of γ-Al 2 O 3 of columnar morphology. In order to investigate the mechanism of the melting front advance into the particle interior during their presence in the plasma stream, the particles were sprayed directly into distilled water. The nanoparticles mainly formed hollow spheres, whereas the conventional particles mainly formed compact spheres. The internal porosity of the solidified nanoparticle agglomerates, which affected the overall coating porosity, was linked to the hollow sphere phenomenon.

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the influence of critical HVOF spray parameters on mechanical properties of WC–12Co coatings obtained from nanophased powder used as feedstock material. A Taguchi design of experiments approach was used for the selection and optimization of process parameters and coating properties. An L9 table was used for the evaluation of the effect of spray distance, oxygen/fuel ratio, gun traverse speed and feed rate on coating microhardness, adhesion strength, porosity and deposition efficiency – thickness. Results show clearly that each parameter affects in a different way and percentage each property. Furthermore, the comparison of XRD data with a conventional WC–12Co coating indicates that the nanostructure of the initial powder is maintained in the coating, whereas in the conventional one the formation of W2C phase is evident. Finally, fretting tests show similar behavior in terms of friction coefficient, but a significant improvement regarding wear resistance in the case of the nanophased coating.

Co-based alloys are used extensively in applications requiring good wear resistance, corrosion and heat resistance. This paper presents the wear data of Co-based plasma sprayed coatings for aeronautical applications at temperatures up to 750 deg C, evaluated in a pin-on-disk unit. Investigation of the coating structure and the wear mechanisms revealed the processing-structure-functionality relationships. The analysis of the tribological results was supported by structure, microhardness and X-ray diffraction studies of the coatings. An SEM examination of the wear marks revealed the predominantly active wear mechanisms in each case. Paper includes a German-language abstract.