Enhanced wear resistance of AlCoCrFeMo high entropy coatings (HECs) through various thermal spray techniques

Abstract

The remarkable mechanical and wear properties of high entropy alloys (HEAs) have opened up exciting possibilities for their use in aerospace applications. This study explores the potential of AlCoCrFeMo high entropy coatings (HECs) fabricated using three thermal spray techniques, namely low-pressure cold spray (LPCS), flame spray (FS), and high-velocity oxy fuel spray (HVOF) as wear resistant surfaces. The coatings were investigated in terms of their microstructures, phases, mechanical properties, and sliding wear characteristics from room temperature up to 350 °C. Ex-situ characterization was performed using XRD for phase analysis and SEM-EDS for cross-sectional microscopy and phase compositions of the coatings. All three coatings exhibited a typical lamellar structure with the formation of BCC solid solution phase and variations in porosity and oxide content. The HVOF sprayed coatings showed higher hardness values compared to the FS and LPCS coatings, which can be attributed to their fine splats microstructure, lower porosity, and oxide inclusions compared to the other two coatings. In terms of tribological performance, the LPCS coatings exhibited overall lower frictional coefficient than the FS and HVOF coatings at both tested temperatures. However, the HVOF coatings exhibited relatively lower wear rates, correlating well with observations from ex-situ analysis, highlighting lower material transfer and decreased formation of debris particles compared to LPCS and FS coatings. These findings suggest that the HEA materials have great potential as next-generation tribological interfaces under high-temperature wear conditions, emphasizing the importance of designing materials with improved microstructural features.