The metal finishing process of electrolytic hard chrome (EHC) plating has been identified as a source of environmental pollution in most industrialized countries like Australia, Europe and USA. The key driver for the technology replacement is that the EHC plating process uses hexavalent chromium, which is a known carcinogen. Our previous research has identified that cold spray nanostructured tungsten carbide cobalt (WC-Co) coatings can be a suitable alternative to provide a functional coating in wear applications. This work explores at another similar technology- Kinetic Metallization for deposition of WC-Co coatings. In this work, the objective is to characterize the residual stress profile of these WC-Co coatings that are deposited by the latest KM systems. These coating systems are used in critical applications such as landing gear pistons and axle journals, hydraulic rods, engine shaft journals, and numerous other external surfaces that operate under high cyclic loading conditions. As such, the residual stress developed during the KM coating process has a significant influence on the fatigue properties of the components. Thus, knowledge of stresses and their linkage with other properties and production parameters is essential for the quality control of these critical structures.

The mechanical integrity of WC-Co coatings is critical for their performance in wear, corrosion, and impact resistance applications. Residual stress, with its role in development of cracking, micro-cracking, and delamination, is another integral part of the mechanical characterization of the coated systems. In the given study, the residual stress of the WC-Co coatings on steel and stainless steel substrates was examined in two conditions, after deposition and after subsequent surface grinding. Several experimental techniques, including bi-layer curvature, X-ray diffraction, and neutron diffraction, were used to assess residual stress in the coatings and to enable comparison between the methods. Residual stresses induced by deposition are mostly due to rapid particle quenching and solidification upon impact, as well as any cold working induced by high velocity particle impact, but for the WC ceramic particles both effects are insignificant and result in small deposition stress. Thermal mismatch between materials of coating and substrate is the major source of stress and scale accordingly to the CTE of the substrate and coating materials and deposition temperature. It was demonstrated that the grinding applied to surface does not modify the as-sprayed residual stresses in the coatings significantly therefore assuming absence of microcracking that could have potentially affect the residual stresses.