Experimental investigation of WC-12Co cold sprayed: Substrate hardness, bonding mechanism, powder type

Abstract

Effects of substrate hardness and particle type on a single WC-12Co (Tungsten carbide cobalt) particle's deposition behavior during the cold spray process was investigated in this study. SEM was used to analyze the surface and cross-sections of the deposited particles to determine their morphology. It was discovered that the deposition behavior of WC-12Co particles changed with increasing substrate hardness, going from fully embedding into soft substrate to partially flattening and even rebounding from the hard substrate. Spherical microstructured WC-12Co particles sustained more severe deformation than other types of powder because of the smaller WC size. The porosity value of WC-12Co coatings is lower, at 1.18 %. WC-12Co particles bulk properties remained unchanged since there were no microstructural changes, decarburization, or the formation of fragile phases.