The Effects of Feedstock Powder and Deposition Technique on the Hardness and Tribological Performance of Thermal-Sprayed WC-Co Coatings
The wear resistance of thirty WC-Co coatings, deposited by standard High-Velocity Oxyfuel (HVOF) techniques and a high-temperature variant of HVOF, with standard commercial and experimental nanostructured feedstocks, is examined. It is found that the high-temperature gun produces harder and more wear-resistant coatings than the standard gun. The latter does not generate high enough temperatures to melt the powder and provide good bonding between WC grains and Co binder. All coatings present higher wear resistance than the steel substrate. Coatings deposited with standard feedstock possess generally higher wear resistance than nanostructured coatings. The difference is more pronounced in sliding than in abrasive wear. WC-Co Coatings deposited with nanostructured feedstocks are recommended for use in bearings and other machinery with sliding parts because they inflict much less wear on the material on which they slide than conventional coatings. Coatings with micrometer WC grains are recommended for abrasion resistance applications such as earth moving or slurry processing machinery.