Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effect of Microstructure and Properties of Ni-WC Composite Coatings on Their Solid Particle Erosion Behavior

  • Published:
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Metal matrix composites (MMCs) of WC in Co or Ni matrices are widely used due to their high wear resistance. Previous studies showed that tailoring the mechanical properties through optimum WC content can significantly extend the life cycle of MMCs. In this study, composite coatings of Ni with various WC content ranging from 10 to 55 vol.% were cold sprayed using agglomerated WCNi powders and two different sizes of Ni powders, − 10 + 4 (d50 = 7 µm) referred to as Ni(7) and − 35 + 15 (d50 = 25 µm) to as Ni(25). Microstructural characterization, including the deformed structure of Ni splats and retention and distribution of WC, was performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Composite coatings were subjected to solid particle erosion following ASTM G76-13 standard. At low WC content coatings, erosion occurred primarily by plastic deformation of Ni matrices and knocking out of WC particles. At high WC concentrations, network distribution of compacted WCNi particles in the matrices led to a significant drop in erosion rates of coatings, due to a change in erosion mechanism from severe cutting and plowing of Ni and WC dislodging to WCNi splats spalling. Composite coatings sprayed using finer size Ni powder were usually more erosion resistant.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. W. Thorn, J. Schell, M.L. Lasonde, G. Hein, M. Klein, and M. Mendez, Erosion Durability Improvement of the T64 Engine for Military Helicopters. Paper Presented at the American Helicopter Society 60th Annual Forum Baltimore, MDed., 2004

  2. ASM handbook. Volume 18, Friction, Lubrication, and Wear Technology, 1992

  3. I. Hutchings and P. Shipway, Tribology Friction and Wear of Engineering Materials, 2nd ed., Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 1992

    Google Scholar 

  4. I. Finnie, Some Reflections on the Past and Future of Erosion, Wear, 1995, 186(1), p 1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. J.M. Miguel, J.M. Guilemany, and S. Vizcaino, Tribological Study of NiCrBSi Coating Obtained by Different Processes, Tribol. Int., 2003, 36(3), p 181–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. P.L. Hurricks, Some Aspects of Metallurgy and Wear Resistance of Surface Coatings, Wear, 1972, 22(3), p 291–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. P. Kulu, Erosion Resistance of Powder Materials and Coatings, J. Tribol., 1989, 8(4), p 12–25

    Google Scholar 

  8. C.P. Paul, S.K. Mishra, P. Tiwari, and L.M. Kukreja, Solid-Particle Erosion Behaviour of WC/Ni Composite Clad Layers with Different Contents of WC Particles, Opt. Laser Technol., 2013, 50, p 155–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. P. Kulu and T. Pihl, Selection Criteria for Wear Resistant Powder Coatings Under Extreme Erosive Wear Conditions, J. Therm. Spray Technol., 2002, 11(4), p 517–522

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. M.R. Ramesh, S. Prakash, S.K. Nath, P.K. Sapra, and B. Venkataraman, Solid Particle Erosion of HVOF Sprayed WC-Co/NiCrFeSiB Coatings, Wear, 2010, 269, p 197–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. M.G. Gee, C. Phatak, and R. Darling, Determination of Wear Mechanisms by Stepwise Erosion and Stereological Analysis, Wear, 2005, 258(1-4), p 412–425

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. I. Hussainova, M. Antonov, and A. Zikin, Erosive Wear of Advanced Composites Based on WC, Tribol. Int., 2012, 46(1), p 254–260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. R. Zhou, Y.H. Jiang, and D.H. Lu, The Effect of Volume Fraction of WC Particles on Erosion Resistance of WC Reinforced Iron Matrix Surface Composites, Wear, 2003, 255, p 134–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. V.K. Champagne, The Cold Spray Materials Deposition Process: Fundamentals and Applications, Woodhead/CRC Press, Cambridge/Boca Raton, 2007

    Book  Google Scholar 

  15. G.-C. Ji, H.-T. Wang, X. Chen, X.-B. Bai, Z.-X. Dong, and F.-G. Yang, Characterization of Cold-Sprayed Multimodal WC-12Co Coating, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2013, 235, p 536–543

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. H.-T. Wang, X. Chen, X.-B. Bai, G.-C. Ji, Z.-X. Dong, and D.-L. Yi, Microstructure and Properties of Cold Sprayed Multimodal WC-17Co Deposits, Int. J. Refract Metal Hard Mater., 2014, 45, p 196–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. N.M. Melendez and A.G. McDonald, Development of WC-Based Metal Matrix Composite Coatings Using Low-Pressure Cold Gas Dynamic Spraying, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2013, 214, p 101–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. D. Lioma, N. Sacks, and I. Botef, Cold Gas Dynamic Spraying of WC-Ni Cemented Carbide Coatings, Int. J. Refract. Met. Hard, 2015, 49, p 365–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. S.A. Alidokht, P. Vo, S. Yue, and R.R. Chromik, Cold Spray Deposition of Ni and WC-Reinforced Ni Matrix Composite Coatings, J. Therm. Spray Technol., 2017, 26(8), p 1908–1921

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. M. Couto, S. Dosta, M. Torrell, J. Fernandez, and J.M. Guilemany, Cold Spray Deposition of WC-17 and 12Co Cermets Onto Aluminum, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2013, 235, p 54–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. H.J. Kim, C.H. Lee, and S.Y. Hwang, Fabrication of WC-Co Coatings by Cold Spray Deposition, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2005, 191(2–3), p 335–340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. C.J. Li, G.J. Yang, P.H. Gao, J. Ma, Y.Y. Wang, and C.X. Li, Characterization of Nanostructured WC-Co Deposited by Cold Spraying, J. Therm. Spray Technol., 2007, 16(5-6), p 1011–1020

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. P.H. Gao, Y.G. Li, C.J. Li, G.J. Yang, and C.X. Li, Influence of Powder Porous Structure on the Deposition Behavior of Cold-Sprayed WC-12Co Coatings, J. Therm. Spray Technol., 2008, 17(5-6), p 742–749

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. T. Peat, A. Galloway, A. Toumpis, P. McNutt, and N. Iqbal, The Erosion Performance of Cold Spray Deposited Metal Matrix Composite Coatings with Subsequent Friction Stir Processing, Appl. Surf. Sci., 2017, 396, p 1635–1648

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. S.A. Alidokht, P. Vo, S. Yue, and R.R. Chromik, Erosive Wear Behavior of Cold-Sprayed Ni-WC Composite Coating, Wear, 2017, 376, p 566–577

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. N.M. Melendez, V.V. Narulkar, G.A. Fisher, and A.G. McDonald, Effect of Reinforcing Particles on the Wear Rate of Low-Pressure Cold-Sprayed WC-Based MMC Coatings, Wear, 2013, 306(1-2), p 185–195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. M. Kouzeli and A. Mortensen, Size Dependent Strengthening in Particle Reinforced Aluminium, Acta Mater., 2002, 50(1), p 39–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. P. Chivavibul, M. Watanabe, S. Kuroda, J. Kawakita, M. Komatsu, K. Sato, and J. Kitamura, Effect of Powder Characteristics on Properties of Warm-Sprayed WC-Co Coatings, J. Therm. Spray Technol., 2010, 19(1-2), p 81–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. W.C. Oliver and G.M. Pharr, An Improved Technique for Determining Hardness and Elastic-Modulus Using Load and Displacement Sensing Indentation Experiments, J. Mater. Res., 1992, 7(6), p 1564–1583

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. A.C. Fischer-Cripps, Nanoindentation, Mechanical Engineering Series, Springer, Berlin, 2002

    Google Scholar 

  31. Hysitron, TI, 950 Triboindenter User Manual Revision 9.3.0314, Hysitron Incorporated, Billerica, 2014, p 1–256

    Google Scholar 

  32. ASTM-G76, Standard Test Method for Conducting Erosion Tests by Solid Particle Impingement Using Gas Jets, West Conshohocken, PA, 2007, p 1–6

  33. E. Bousser, L. Martinu, and J.E. Klemberg-Sapieha, Solid Particle Erosion Mechanisms of Protective Coatings for Aerospace Applications, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2014, 257, p 165–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Y. Zou, D. Goldbaum, J.A. Szpunar, and S. Yue, Microstructure and Nanohardness of Cold-Sprayed Coatings: Electron Backscattered Diffraction and Nanoindentation Studies, Scripta Mater., 2010, 62(6), p 395–398

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. C. Borchers, F. Gartner, T. Stoltenhoff, H. Assadi, and H. Kreye, Microstructural and Macroscopic Properties of Cold Sprayed Copper Coatings, J. Appl. Phys., 2003, 93(12), p 10064–10070

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. L.E. Murr, C.S. Niou, S. Pappu, J.M. Rivas, and S.A. Quinones, Leds in Ultra-High Strain-Rate Deformation, Phys. Status Solidi A, 1995, 149(1), p 253–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. B. Bay, N. Hansen, D.A. Hughes, and D. Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf, Overview No. 96 Evolution of f.c.c. Deformation Structures in Polyslip, Acta Metall. Mater., 1992, 40(2), p 205–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. A.S. Praveen, J. Sarangan, S. Suresh, and J.S. Subramanian, Erosion Wear Behaviour of Plasma Sprayed NiCrSiB/Al2O3 Composite Coating, Int. J. Refract. Met. Hard, 2015, 52, p 209–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Z. Hongwei, D. Xiaohui, and C. Shuguang, Solid Particle Erosion-Wear Behaviour of Cr3C2-NiCr Coating on Ni-Based Superalloy, Adv. Mech. Eng., 2017, 9(3), p 1–9

    Google Scholar 

  40. T. Schmidt, F. Gärtner, H. Assadi, and H. Kreye, Development of a Generalized Parameter Window for Cold Spray Deposition, Acta Mater., 2006, 54(3), p 729–742

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. H. Wang, W.M. Xia, and Y.S. Jin, A Study on Abrasive Resistance of Ni-Based Coatings with a WC Hard Phase, Wear, 1996, 195(1-2), p 47–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Project No. 8246 for the cold spray equipment, the CFI Leader’s Opportunity Fund Project No. 13029 for the tribometer and nanoindentation equipment, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Strategic Grants Program for the operational funding of this project. Thanks are also due to Tekna Inc. for providing the Ni and spherical WC powders. The authors acknowledge administrative support from Drs. Phuong Vo, Eric Irissou, and Jean-Gabriel Legoux and technical support from Mr. Jean Francois Alarie at the McGill Aerospace Materials and Alloy Design Center (MAMADC) cold spray facility at NRC-Boucherville. The authors thank the Functional Coatings and Surface Engineering Laboratory (FCSEL) at Polytechnique Montréal and greatly acknowledge the assistance of Dr. Etienne Bousser with the erosive wear testing and analysis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, M.H. Wong Building, 3610 University Street, Montreal, QC, H3A 0C5, Canada

    Sima A. Alidokht, Steve Yue & Richard R. Chromik

  2. Department of Engineering Physics, Polytechnique Montréal, P.O. Box 6079, Station Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3A7, Canada

    Jacques Lengaigne & Jolanta E. Klemberg-Sapieha

Authors
  1. Sima A. Alidokht
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jacques Lengaigne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jolanta E. Klemberg-Sapieha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Steve Yue
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Richard R. Chromik
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard R. Chromik.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Alidokht, S.A., Lengaigne, J., Klemberg-Sapieha, J.E. et al. Effect of Microstructure and Properties of Ni-WC Composite Coatings on Their Solid Particle Erosion Behavior. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 28, 1532–1543 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-019-03956-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-019-03956-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation