Thermally sprayed coatings are mechanically bonded to the substrate and present porosities and a lamellar microstructure that make them less attractive in applications requiring high coating toughness and impermeability to gas and liquids, these properties been obtained with more technically advanced overlaying processes. This paper presents the research work carried out to increase the erosion resistance of arc-sprayed coatings containing hard Fe 2 B crystals dispersed in mild and alloyed steel-based matrices. These arc-sprayed coatings were a) heat-treated in furnace up to 1000°C and b) fused with an oxy-acetylene torch. The sprayed specimens were tested in a particle erosion device at the impact angles of 25° and 90°. The evolution of microstructure was done by SEM and wear damage by Time- Domain Optical Coherence Tomography. It was shown that both the heat treatment and fusing processes considerably enhanced the erosion resistance of coatings particularly at the impact angle of 90°. This increase in erosion resistance is attributed to the disappearance of stringers between sprayed lamellae. Liquid phase sintering is the mechanism responsible for the homogenization of arc-sprayed coatings containing Fe 2 B. Grain growth observed in arc-sprayed coatings heat-treated up to 1000°C or fused with an oxyacetylene torch does not have a detrimental effect on erosion resistance.

Earlier works have demonstrated that Fe2B-based arc-sprayed coatings and weld overlays present outstanding dry erosion resistance when compared to other carbide-based coatings and overlays. The present work was undertaken to examine their wear resistance, particularly their slurry erosion resistance. Cored wires containing chromium (2-20 wt%) and carbon (0.2-1.2 wt%) additives were deposited by arc spraying and gas metal arc welding (GMAW). The abrasion, particle erosion and slurry erosion resistances of these (Fe-B-Cr-C) coatings and overlays were evaluated in laboratory. The results demonstrate that both differences in cored wire composition and variations in the deposition process must be considered in order to obtain the best wear properties.

WELD OVERLAYS, more specifically chromium carbide weld overlays, have been widely used as thick coatings to protect critical plant components from abrasion wear. These thick coatings have been also considered in applications involving severe erosion, their thickness being synonymous with long life protection. Recently, boride-based arc-sprayed coatings have been developed especially for erosion control. They have demonstrated their superiority in erosion resistance over various coatings including chromium carbide submerged arc overlays. This work was undertaken to produce dense boride-based coatings comparable in thickness with carbide-based overlays. A GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding) welding procedure was developed for depositing boride-based overlays from cored wires. A comparative evaluation of the hardness, erosive and abrasive wear resistance of these boride-based overlays with regards to chromium and tungsten carbide overlays was carried out. Abrasion and erosion wear testing demonstrated that boride-based overlays showed higher abrasion and erosion resistance than chromium and tungsten carbide-based overlays. Overlays with higher wear resistance can be obtained if appropriate welding procedure is used to decrease weld bead dilution and therefore increase coating hardness. Results also showed that boride-based coatings deposited by arc spraying posses higher erosion resistance than those produced by the welding process.

Exposed to particle erosion environments, metal-sprayed coatings are damaged by micro-machining and ploughing at low impact angles. The generation and propagation of subsurface lateral cracks at high impacting angles damage single-phase ceramic coatings. Therefore, multicomponent coatings deposited by high-energy processes have been widely used to provide wear protection in most of the applications. As commercial arc-sprayed coatings have been used to a limited extent in applications involving erosion and abrasion wear, developing attractive wear resistant arc-sprayed coatings has been found necessary. A cored wire formulation, referred to as Alpha-1800, has been developed to produce tailored arc-sprayed coatings that are tough enough to resist particle impacts at 90° and sufficiently hard to deflect eroding particles at low impact angles. Typical 1 mm-thick coatings composed of ductile and hard phases with Knoop hardness reaching 1800 kg/mm2 were easily produced by arc spraying the cored wire with air. Coatings were: 1) erosion tested at 25°C and higher temperatures at impact angles of 25° and 90° in a gas-blast erosion rig, 2) slurry erosion tested at impact angles of 25° and 90°, 3) abrasion wear tested using the ASTM G-65 test procedure. Results show that coatings produced with the new cored wire are at least 5 times more erosion resistant and 10 times more abrasion resistant than coatings produced by arc spraying commercial cored wires. The performance of the new arc-sprayed coating can be compared with that of high-energy WC-based coatings. Being thermally stable up to 850°C, arc-sprayed coatings produced with the new cored wire are attractive for applications in many industrial sectors up to high temperatures.

The isothermal and cyclic oxidation of freestanding Ni-20Cr-10Al-lY thick coatings has been investigated at 1200°C using TGA, SEM, XRD and XPS techniques. Coatings produced by HVOF are dense and remain crack free after thermal treatments. The protective oxide layer formed did not flake off upon cyclic oxidation as confirmed by SEM analysis. In addition, three oxidation regimes were identified after analyzing TGA data: two below 1000 °C and a third one at approximately 1200°C. The regimes below 1000°C correspond to the selective oxidation of elements on the surface and at the subsurface of the coatings whereas the third regime involves element diffusion from the bulk of the coating to the surface. The oxidation regime became asymptotic at 1200 °C as stable oxides formed. The presence of water vapor affects neither the thickness nor the orientation of oxide crystals formed on the surface as confirmed by the X-ray analysis. The XPS and X-ray results show an inter-diffusion between the coating and substrate with a slight increase in chromium concentration at the interface. Element distribution within the oxide layer was found to follow the order: Al-(oxide)Y-(oxide)/Cr-(oxide)/Ni-(oxide)/NiCrAlY from the outermost oxide layer to the bulk of the coating. These results show that HVOF dense Ni-20Cr-10Al-lY sprayed coatings can be used as anti-oxidant barriers in both isothermal and cyclic oxidation at 1200°C.

Slurry-handling equipment and pipelines particularly used in coal processing and mining industries are continuously exposed to the Impact of liquid-borne solid particles, resulting in progressive damage and loss of material. Cost-effective solutions to slurry erosion in aqueous media have been mainly limited to austenitic stainless steels, although coatings have been proposed. This work was aimed at evaluating the slurry erosion resistance of arc-sprayed coatings and determining what improvement IS achieved after laser melting. Multiphase and Type 316 stainless steel arc-sprayed coatings were obtained by arc spraying in air solid and cored wires. The surface of arc-sprayed coatings was melted using a pulsed Nd-YAG laser producing 1.06 µm wavelength radiation. Arc-sprayed and laser-melted coatings were slurry erosion tested at impact angles of 25° and 90° in a laboratory slurry jet erosion device using quartz sand as erodent. The evaluation of wear damage was done with a laser profilometer. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis were used to evaluate the microstructural changes which occurred after laser surface melting. Multiphase arc-sprayed coatings were more slurry erosion resistant than Type 316 stainless steel coatings. Improvement in slurry erosion resistance, particularly at the impact angle of 90°, was achieved by laser melting multiphase arc-sprayed coatings. Although deep microstructural changes occurred within coatings upon laser melting, the removal of stringers between sprayed platelets by laser melting was found responsible for the increase in slurry erosion resistance of multiphase laser-melted coatings.

Iron ore pellets are sintered and reduced in continuous large industrial oil-fired furnaces. From the furnace, large volumes of hot gas are sucked by powerful fans. Being exposed to gas-borne iron particles and temperatures ranging between 125°C and 328°C fan components are rapidly deteriorated. Extensive part repair or replacement are required for maintaining a profitable operation. The arc spraying technique has been suggested for repair provided it could produce erosion resistant coatings. Commercial wires were arc sprayed using various spray parameters to produce thick coatings. Arc-sprayed coatings and reference specimens were erosion tested at 25°C and 330°C and impact angles of 25° and 90° in a laboratory gas-blast erosion rig. This device was designed to impact materials with coarse (32 -300 μm) iron ore particles at a speed of 100 m/s. The volume loss was accurately measured with a laser profilometer. Few arc sprayed coatings exhibited erosion resistance comparable with structural steel at low impact angles. Erosion of arc sprayed coatings and reference specimens dramatically increases at 330°C for both 25° and 90° impact angles. Erosion-enhanced oxidation was found responsible for the increase in wastage above room temperature. Though arc spraying can be appropriate for on-site repair, the development of erosion resistant coatings is required for intermediate temperatures.

Arc sprayed coatings are attractive means to protect components from abrasion wear provided they contain enough hard phases. Because of their hardness and toughness 316LTiB 2 cermets were selected as the basis for developing wear resistant coatings. Core wires composed of 304 stainless steel sheaths filled with 10 to 65 wt % TiB 2 , 1 to 15 wt % additives and remaining 316L stainless steel were fabricated and arc sprayed with air. The arc sprayed stainless steel-TiB 2 coatings were submitted to the ASTM G65-B abrasion test and the volume loss was measured with an optical profilometer. As expected, the volume loss decreases and the proportion of TiB 2 increases. However, large differences in volume loss between coatings that contain about the same volumetric proportion of hard phases cannot be explained by a linear reationship. The inverse rule of mixing was proposed. This inverse rule of mixing was found particularly useful for determining the influence of additives. Tin, added in the core as a fugitive liquid transfer agent, was found to improve the wear resistance of coatings. These advanced arc sprayed stainless steel-TiB 2 coatings can be favorably compared with coatings obtained by arc spraying commercially available solid and core wires.