WC Decarburization Research Articles

Effect of Argon Shroud Protection on the Laser Cladding of Nanostructured WC-12Co Powder

In this study, nanostructured WC-12Co powder was produced by ball milling and then agglomerating by spray drying. The produced nanostructured WC-12Co powder was used for laser cladding of AISI 321 stainless steel substrate. In order to evaluate the effect of argon shroud protection, the cladding process was performed with and without argon shroud protection. Microstructural and phase characterization showed that argon shroud protection can reduce the WC decarburization and the relative fraction of WC phase in clads reached up to 74%. In addition, microhardness and porosity percentage of the clads with argon shroud protection showed a significant improvement in comparison with the clads without argon shroud protection. The microhardness (to 2200 HV) and wear resistance increased and the porosity percentage decreased to less than 1%.

Effects of Post-spray Heat Treatment on Hardness and Wear Properties of Ti-WC High-Pressure Cold Spray Coatings

In this research, the effects of post-spray heat treatment at 550 and 650 °C for 1 h on a cermet Ti-WC nanostructured coating deposited onto AISI 304 stainless steel substrates by high-pressure cold spray was observed. A metallic Ti interlayer was further used to compensate for stresses resulting from subsequent heat treatment on the developed coating. Microstructural analysis of the as-deposited coating by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed mostly fine WC grain (below 1 µm) present in the coating with a few larger 4 µm grains dispersed homogeneously throughout. X-ray diffraction analysis of the as-sprayed coating showed no noticeable evidence of WC decarburization. Heat treatment of the coating caused porosity to decrease from above 1.7% to below 0.5%, traced by SEM image analysis. Post-spray heat treatment promotes the formation of new carbide phases caused by the reactions between the Ti binder and WC grains, resulting in significant increases to Vickers microhardness. Evidence of an SHS reaction that produces TiC with heat treatment is confirmed with SEM image analysis as well as (S)TEM area mapping techniques, further supported by selected area electron diffraction analysis. Three-body sliding wear/abrasion tests have shown that wear resistance of Ti-WC cold spray coatings increases with heat treatment as well. In all, the effect of post-spray heat treatment behavior of nanostructured Ti-WC coating will be compared with that of as-sprayed behavior and WC-Co cold spray coatings.

Microstructure and Cavitation Erosion Resistance of HVOF Deposited WC-Co Coatings with Different Sized WC

Conventional, multimodal and nanostructured WC-12Co coatings with different WC sizes and distributions were prepared by high velocity oxy-fuel spray (HVOF). The micrographs and structures of the coatings were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD) et al. The porosity, microhardness and fracture toughness of the WC-Co coatings were measured. The coating resistance to cavitation erosion (CE) was investigated by ultrasonic vibration cavitation equipment and the cavitation mechanisms were explored. Results show that there is serious WC decarburization in nanostructured and multimodal WC-Co coatings with the formation of W2C and W phases. The nanostructured WC-Co coating has the densest microstructure with lowest porosity compared to the other two WC-Co coatings, as well as the highest fracture toughness among the three coatings. It was also discovered that the nanostructured WC-Co coating exhibits the best CE resistance and that the CE rate is approximately one-third in comparison with conventional coating.

Structure and cavitation erosion behavior of HVOF sprayed multi-dimensional WC–10Co4Cr coating

Abstract A new kind of multi-dimensional WC–10Co4Cr coating which is composed of nano, submicron, micron WC grains and CoCr alloy, was developed by high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spraying. Porosity, microhardness, fracture toughness and cavitation erosion resistance of the multi-dimensional coating were investigated in comparison with the bimodal and nanostructured WC–10Co4Cr coatings. Moreover, the cavitation erosion behavior and mechanism of the multi-dimensional coating were explored. Results show that HVOF sprayed multi-dimensional WC–10Co4Cr coating possesses low porosity (≤0.32%) and high fracture toughness without obvious nano WC decarburization during spraying. Furthermore, it is discovered that the multi-dimensional WC–10Co4Cr coating exhibits the best cavitation erosion resistance which is enhanced by approximately 28% and 34%, respectively, compared with the nanostructured and bimodal coatings in fresh water. The superior cavitation resistance of multi-dimensional WC–10Co4Cr coating may originate from the unique micro–nano structure and excellent properties, which can effectively obstruct the formation and propagation of cavitation erosion cracks.

Investigation of WC decarburization effect on the microstructure and wear behavior of WC-Ni hardfacing under dry and alkaline wet conditions

The performance of drilling tools hardfacing in different conditions is strongly related to microstructural aspect of the coating and to the adhesion with the substrate. In the present investigation, the manual oxy-acetylene brazing process was employed for AISI 1020 steel hardfacing using WC-Ni. The substrate/hard facing interface was particularly studied which was a Ni-Cr-Al-Mo interlayer prepared by flame thermal spray method. The microstructural results exhibit a good embedding of WC particles into the Ni matrix, where the inter-diffusion of Ni, Cr, and Fe elements at the interface is enhanced using the interlayer. The dissolution and decarburization phenomena of WC particles with the formation of W2C eutectic phase and their effect on the decohesion and pull out of the particles during the wear test were studied. The hardness (HIT) and Young's modulus (EIT) of different parts of the hardfacing were investigated by instrumented nanoindentation. The wear resistance of the surface coatings under alkaline condition using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) basic solution of pH = 12 is two times higher than under dry condition. Furthermore, the formation of SiO2 third body stripes along the wear track promotes the decrease of the friction coefficient and the volume loss. On the other side, the wear mechanism is adhesive with severe plastic deformation of the Ni matrix in dry condition and oxidative/abrasive wear in alkaline wet condition.

Nanocrystalline WC-Co HVAF Coatings by Utilizing Novel Powder Manufacturing Route Using Water-Soluble Raw Materials

In this study, nanostructured WC-Co coatings were produced using experimental nanocrystalline WC-12Co and WC-24Co powders produced by a novel chemical synthesis route. Test coatings were produced using HVAF spraying keeping the temperature as low as possible during the deposition in order to avoid decomposition of the nanocarbides. In experimental powders, two different Co incorporation methods were used: a conventional way in which cobalt was incorporated as a metallic Co powder and a chemical synthesis way in which cobalt acetate was used as a cobalt source. When using cobalt acetate, it decomposes to metallic cobalt during the process. Experimental powders in which cobalt acetate has been used as cobalt source resulted poor deposition efficiency. With warmer parameters, powders resulted better DE, but significant WC decarburization and the dissolution into the matrix phase occurred. Powders in which Co has been introduced as Co powder showed enhanced DE enabling spraying with decreased temperature and higher particle velocity, resulting in coatings with less WC decomposition. Especially, an experimental powder in which Co has been incorporated both as Co powder and as Co-Ac results very fine nanocarbide structure with significantly less WC decomposition having a hardness value of 1201 HV0.3, even with 24% Co.

Microstructure-property relations in WC-Co coatings sprayed from combinatorial Ni-plated and nanostructured powders

In this study, we addressed the effects of Ni-plating and nanostructuring of WC-Co powders on the microstructure-property relations and WC decarburization of WC-Co composite coatings. By high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) spraying, the coating materials were produced from four different powders, referred to as microstructured WC-Co (mc-WC), nanostructured WC-Co (nc-WC), Ni-plated microstructured WC-Co (Ni/mc-WC) and Ni-plated nanostructured WC-Co (Ni/nc-WC). We found that the coatings, deposited from Ni-free powders, undergo a high level of decarburization, thereby yielding W2C phase formation in brittle amorphous W-rich Co matrix that could be preferential site for crack propagation. On the contrary, the Ni-plating treatment could reduce the amount of decarburization of the coatings, resulting in the uniform distribution of WC phase in the W-depleted Co matrix. Consequently, we revealed the underlying mechanisms responsible for WC decarburization in the coatings, and further suggested that the coating deposited from Ni-plated and nanostructured powders exhibits a superior combination of hardness and fracture toughness as compared to other coatings.

Deposition and characterization of WC-Co hard-metal coatings by high velocity oxy-fuel process combined with dry-ice blasting

The residual stresses arising during high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) process usually restrict the building up of thick coatings. The potential of in-situ dry-ice blasting treatment during HVOF process to deposit thick WC-Co coatings with high quality due to its efficient cooling and mechanical peening was investigated in the present work. Characterization of WC–Co coatings deposited by HVOF combined with dry-ice blasting was carried out and compared with that of the coatings prepared using conventional HVOF. Several techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive spectroscopy, were used to characterize the microstructures and phase distribution of the powders and coatings. In addition, mechanical properties such as hardness and sliding wear resistance were evaluated. The results demonstrate that HVOF-sprayed WC-Co coating with dry-ice blasting is characterized by compact construction, grain refinement as well as high hardness. Different from the prevention phenomenon of decarburization observed for plasma spraying of austenitic steel, WC decarburization still occurs for HVOF-sprayed WC-Co coating with dry-ice blasting. The in-situ dry-ice blasting treatment results in minute improvement in wear resistance of WC-Co coatings.

Tribological behavior of nanostructured high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) thermal sprayed WC-17NiCr coatings

In this research, the nanostructured WC-17NiCr cermet coatings were developed using the high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) thermal spraying processes on ACI CD4MCu cast duplex stainless steel substrates, widely used in pump industry for abrasive wear protection of surfaces. The coatings, sprayed by both robotic and manual methods, had two different fuel (methane) to oxygen ratios (FTOR), namely 0.68 and 0.62. Using different analytical and microstructural techniques, the microstructural characteristics of the powder particles and mechanical, microstructural, and tribological properties of the coatings were determined. Different morphologies were assigned to sprayable particles, namely spherical, apple, donut, irregular, and mixed. It was revealed that the rate of WC decarburization had increased with increasing the FTOR. In contrast, the scanning electron microscopy and image analyses showed that the lowest porosity percentage was obtained for the robotically-sprayed coating with 0.68 FTOR. The Vickers microhardness increased along with fracture toughness, which can be attributed to the effect of the ‘duplex structure’ associated with the particle outer coating of Co and is a novelty in the research. The pin-on-disk reciprocal sliding wear tests at various loadings had shown different wear rates in the coatings. It was inferred that the wear performance was improved with the microstructural homogeneity, hardness, and the fracture toughness in the coatings. In all coatings, lower coefficient of friction (COF) was observed at higher loads. Finally, the wear mechanisms involved in the wear processes were identified as deformation and removal of the binder, fracture and pullout of the carbide particles, and delamination and spallation of the splats.

Investigation of WC-Co Electrospark Coatings with Various Carbon Contents

Electrospark deposition was employed to clad WC-10%Co, W/C1.6-10%Co, and W/C0.5-10%Co hard alloys on steel 1035, and the tribological properties of the coatings obtained were examined. The influence of the W/C ratio in the electrode materials on the decarburization of tungsten carbide was studied. It is shown that the degree of tungsten carbide degradation can be reduced by increasing the concentration of carbon in the WC-Co electrode materials, and also that the WC decarburization reaction is reversible on annealing. Coatings deposited using new electrode materials with an excess of carbon (W/C0.5) and/or tungsten (W/C1.6) have increased microhardness and improved frictional characteristics compared with the conventional coating.

Tungsten Carbide Decarburization by Electrical Discharges

Electrospark deposition (ESD) was employed to clad WC-10%Co hard alloy on steel 1035 and the tribological properties of the coatings obtained were examined. The influence of the duration and frequency of discharges, the nature of the environment, and the carbon concentration in the electrode materials on the decarburization of tungsten carbide was studied. It is shown that the degree of tungsten carbide degradation can be reduced by decreasing the discharge frequency and increasing the concentration of carbon in the WC-Co electrode materials and also that the WC decarburization reaction is reversible on annealing.

Propylene flow, microstructure and performance of WC–12Co coatings using a gas-fuel HVOF spray process

Five WC–12Co coatings were deposited by a high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) system using constant oxygen flow and varying propylene flow. The phase composition, microstructure, as well as abrasive and sliding wear performance of the as-sprayed coatings were investigated. The degree of tungsten carbide (WC) decarburization in the as-sprayed coatings increases while the coating porosity decreases with the increase of the propylene flow. The coating hardness, fracture toughness, resistance to abrasive and sliding wear increases with the increase of the propylene flow, reaches maximum and then decreases. At the low flow of the propylene, relatively loose coating microstructure is formed, which leads to fracturing and pulling off the WC particles during abrasive and sliding wear process. Herewith, at the high flow of the propylene, the high degree of the WC decarburization and high brittleness of the coating leads to micro-cutting during abrasive wear as well as to cracking and delamination of the coating in the sliding wear process.

Hydrogen-containing chemically active gas medium for controlling carbon content of tungsten-base hard alloys

The interaction between components of tungsten-base hard alloys and hydrogen which is used in sintering as a protective gas medium has been theoretically and experimentally studied, Thermodynamic possibility of reactions responsible for variations in carbon content of alloys has been analyzed. It has been found that when the alloy interacts with hydrogen, the former is decarburized both by hydrogen proper and moisture and oxygen impurities present in it. Equilibrium constants K P and equilibrium compositions for the above reactions have been calculated at 300–1500 K. It is shown that methane added to hydrogen in amounts exceeding its equilibrium concentration with respect to WC but not exceeding its equilibrium concentration with respect to graphite not only slows down the process of WC decarburization, but recarburizes W and W 2C impurities present in initial powders to WC with no risk of free carbon liberation. Compositions of methane-hydrogen mixture have been found, which allow a reliable control of the carbon content of sintered hard alloys. The above gas medium has permitted us to devise a peculiar sintering procedure which allows two-phase alloys uniform with respect to carbon content, as well as alloys having special-purpose properties to be fabricated.