Arc spraying has always been the most cost-effective way of thermal spraying metal alloys but oxide content and degradation of the alloy by loss of particular alloying elements have limited quality of the coatings. In this paper a process is described which greatly reduces degradation and improves coating density and oxide content. Corrosion behaviour both in aqueous and high temperature environments is markedly improved. For aqueous applications coatings of Inconel 625 were tested in a potentio-dynamic cell and by salt spray testing to evaluate both the inherent properties and the permeability of the coating and significantly improved behaviour was found in both cases. For high temperature corrosion, samples of FeCrAl were tested in air and in a sulphidising environment with and without thermal cycling. Coatings of NiCrAl and NiCrTi were also examined. The coating types and test regimes were aimed at specific practical applications such as fireside corrosion in boilers and waste incinerators, hot oxidation of flare stack burners etc. In the aqueous situation valves and process vessels are being examined as candidate applications for Inconel 625 coatings.

Zinc and aluminium coatings have been used widely to protect steel structures from corrosion in aggressive and hostile conditions. The more recent development of zinc 15wt% aluminium alloy in a wire form has demonstrated that arc-spray coatings can be produced with a resistance to red rust which is superior to that of the single metals. Competitive 'pseudo' alloy or composite coatings produced by co-spraying wires of zinc and aluminium have been shown to achieve resistance to salt spray conditions similar to this conventional alloy. Work described in this paper confirms these findings and goes on to demonstrate an additional advantage of co-spraying an aluminium -5wt% magnesium instead of aluminium with the zinc. The importance of providing a fine dispersion of the two phases in the 'pseudo' alloy is highlighted and an alternative method of providing a similar dispersion by using a 'cored' wire (e.g. Al-5wt%Mg wire in a zinc sheath) approach has been demonstrated. The importance of 'self sealing' in these coatings after the initial loss of zinc is discussed which is related to the coating microstructure and their electrochemical behaviour in chloride solutions.

Thermal spraying has been used to protect many steel structures from aqueous corrosion using Zinc and Aluminium, and to some extent their alloy coatings to provide galvanic protection. The lifetimes of the coatings can approach 50 years even when exposed in severe marine environments. Zinc coatings work by continuously sacrificing themselves and slowly dissipating over time. Aluminium coatings passivate more readily and form a barrier layer, the passivity makes them less able to protect damaged areas and to self heal. A new ternary coating system involving Aluminium, Zinc and Magnesium has been shown to be capable of providing both a passive barrier layer as well as being able to give galvanically active protection. Salt spray tests have shown that the resistance to red rust of these new coatings increases by 300% over similar thicknesses of the separate metal coatings. Processing by arcspray is straightforward and both adhesion and deposition efficiency are better than where Zinc is sprayed alone.