Wear and corrosion studies of Fe–B–Cr alloy coating on en 24 steel by HVOF thermal spray method

Abstract

This work investigate the wear behavior of Fe–B–Cr coatings on medium carbon steel (EN24) substrate is used for several automotive parts. The high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) method was used to create the new crystalline coating of Fe–B–Cr (composition of 59%Fe–26%B–15%Cr in wt %) on a medium carbon steel substrate (AISI 4340). The characteristics of powder and coating are investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) merged with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), optical microscopy (OM) and thermogravmentric analysis (TGA) which were undertaken in the partial characterization of the coating. The phase contents of both powder and coatings were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The coatings consist of melted and un-melted particles identified in the coatings. Moreover, oxides and micro-cracks were observed at the surface. The mechanical property of the coatings was characterized using a microhardness test. The hardness value increased three times more than the substrate. The coated surface showed lower levels of porosity. Moreover, the electrochemical investigation found Fe–B–Cr coating on medium carbon steel. The corrosion test was carried out in an environment with 0.5 M of NaCl, which showed that the corrosion resistance improved by coating.