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Tribological performance and corrosion resistance of HVOF WC-17 wt. % Co coatings: influence of micro-to-nanoscale morphology

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Abstract

We investigated the wear and corrosion properties of high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF)-sprayed microstructured and near-nanostructured WC-17 wt. % Co coatings fabricated on steel substrates. The near-nanostructured variant exhibited a high hardness value of ~991 Hv, a low corrosion rate of ~0.10624 MPY, a low wear rate of ~0.0012 mm3/m, and a low cumulative wear volume loss of ~0.1304 mm3. Corrosion effects resulted in a reduction of hardness by 23.02% and 30.07% for the near-nanostructured and microstructured samples, respectively; moreover, the wear volume loss of the microstructured coating was 30.02% higher compared to the near-nanostructured coating. We attribute the enhanced corrosion and wear resistance of the near-nanostructured HVOF coating to its dense and uniform surface morphology, low porosity, minimal decarburization, and high hardness. Triboscopic imaging studies further confirmed a low degradation rate, high wear resistance, and minimal wear volume loss.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Dr. Tahir I. Khan at Bradford University for sponsoring the HVOF cermet samples.

Funding

This work was supported by the Dongil Cultural Scholarship Foundation, the Kyungpook National University Research Fund, and the BK21 (Electronic Electric Convergence Talent Nurturing Education Research Center) funded by the Ministry of Education of Korea and the HEC grant NRPU No. 20-3043/NRPU/R&D/HEC13628.

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Author notes

  1. Guanghui A. Zhu and K.-W. (G. H.) A. Chee contributed equally to this work and share first authorship.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Electronics Engineering, College of IT Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, Republic of Korea

    Guanghui A. Zhu, K.-W. (G.H.) A. Chee & Muhammad Shahoor

  2. National Education Center for Semiconductor Technology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, Republic of Korea

    K.-W. (G.H.) A. Chee

  3. Institute of Semiconductor Fusion Technology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, Republic of Korea

    K.-W. (G.H.) A. Chee

  4. School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, Republic of Korea

    K.-W. (G.H.) A. Chee

  5. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Changwon National University, Gyeongnam, Changwon, 51140, Republic of Korea

    Tauseef Ahmed

  6. Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan

    Tauseef Ahmed

  7. Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Pak-Austria Fachhochschule Institute of Applied Sciences & Technology, Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

    Abdul Mateen

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  1. Guanghui A. Zhu
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. G. A. Z., K.-W. (G. H.) A. C., T. A., S. M., and A. M. were involved in the material preparation, data collection, data analysis, and interpretation. G. A. Z., K.-W. (G. H.) A. C., T. A., and A. M. performed the validation. The first draft of the manuscript was co-prepared by G. A. Z., K.-W. (G. H.) A. C., and T. A., and all authors contributed to the review and editing of the manuscript. G. A. Z., A. M., and K.-W. (G. H.) A. C. managed the formal analysis, visualization, project administration, and supervision.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to K.-W. (G.H.) A. Chee.

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Zhu, G.A., Chee, KW.(.A., Ahmed, T. et al. Tribological performance and corrosion resistance of HVOF WC-17 wt. % Co coatings: influence of micro-to-nanoscale morphology. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 128, 4091–4102 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-023-11943-8

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