Microstructure-based thermo-mechanical modelling of thermal spray coatings

This paper demonstrates how microstructure-based finite element (FE) modelling can be used to interpret and predict the thermo-mechanical behaviour of thermal spray coatings. Validation is obtained by comparison to experimental and/or literature data.Finite element meshes are therefore constructed on SEM micrographs of high velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF)-sprayed hardmetals (WC-CoCr, WC-FeCrAl) and plasma-sprayed Cr2O3, employed as case studies. Uniaxial tensile tests simulated on high-magnification micrographs return micro-scale elastic modulus values in good agreement with depth-sensing Berkovich micro-indentation measurements. At the macro-scale, simulated and experimental three-point bending tests are also in good agreement, capturing the typical size-dependency of the mechanical properties of these materials. The models also predict the progressive stiffening of porous plasma-sprayed Cr2O3 due to crack closure under compressive loading, in agreement with literature reports.Refined models of hardmetal coatings, accounting for plastic behaviours and failure stresses, predict crack initiation locations as observed by indentation tests, highlighting the relevance of stress concentrations around microstructural defects (e.g. oxide inclusions).Sliding contact simulations between a hardmetal surface and a small spherical asperity reproduce the fundamental processes in tribological pairings. The experimentally observed "wavy" morphologies of actual wear surfaces are therefore explained by a mechanism of micro-scale plastic flow and matrix extrusion

Plastic deformation phenomena during cold spray impact of WC-Co particles onto metal substrates

This paper studies the plastic deformation phenomena in ductile substrates (Al7075 alloy, carbon steel) during cold spray-deposition of WC-Co. Metallographic inspection of etched cross-sections and through-thickness nano-hardness profiling indicate that plastic deformation of the substrate (into which undeformed WC-Co particles penetrate deep) is confined to a shallow area, below which the material appears unaltered. Adiabatic deformation phenomena in the substrate are revealed by finite element modelling of the impact process. Close to the surface, the temperature raises in less than 10 ns, leading to metal jetting, whilst the underlying material, below a depth of few micrometres, is substantially unaffected

“Hybrid” plasma spraying of NiCrAlY+Al 2 O 3 + h -BN composite coatings for sliding wear applications

International audienceA novel plasma-spray process, featuring simultaneous injections of dry powders and multiple liquid streams, was employed to produce composite coatings where sub-micrometric particles of Al2O3 and hexagonal BN (h-BN) are dispersed within a NiCrAlY metal matrix. Various coatings, containing up to ≈10 wt% Al2O3 and ≈9 wt% h-BN, were obtained. A co-deposition effect was noted whereby a higher h-BN feed also increases Al2O3 incorporation in the coating, even under a constant flow rate of Al2O3 suspension.Although the microhardness (≈600 HV0.3) seemed rather insensitive to the composition of the coatings, their sliding wear resistance (tested under ball-on-disk configuration against corundum spheres at various temperatures) improved with increasing contents of Al2O3 and h-BN. The improvement was more significant at room temperature, but some beneficial effect also emerged when testing at 400 °C and 700 °C. Al2O3 and h-BN indeed promote the formation and enhance the mechanical stability of an oxide-based tribofilm, protecting the coating surface from direct contact with the counterbody. Specific tribofilm formation mechanisms however vary with temperature. Overall, coatings containing ≥5 wt% of Al2O3 and h-BN keep a reasonably stable wear rate (<5*10−4 mm3/(Nm)) over a wide temperature range

Diffusion mechanisms and microstructure development in pack aluminizing of Ni-based alloys

Despite the large industrial use of pack aluminizing processes for the protection of parts (e.g. cooling channels) of gas turbine blades, systematic studies relating the formation mechanisms and the chemical composition of pack aluminized layers to important process parameters, including the nature of the base alloy and the temperature, are scarce. In this study, 4 different alloys (pure Ni, Ni-20Cr, Inconel 738 and directionally solidified CM247LC) were subjected to a pack aluminizing process at three different temperatures (950. \ub0C, 1000. \ub0C, 1040. \ub0C), using a pack mix containing a fluorine-based activator; the results were compared to those obtained with a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) aluminizing process performed at 1040. \ub0C with the same fluorine-based gaseous precursor.The microstructural characterization, performed by SEM+quantitative EDX analysis, XRD and nanoindentation testing, shows that, during the heating stage of the pack aluminizing process, Al is transported to the sample surface at temperatures too low to allow significant simultaneous diffusion of Ni; therefore, a \u3b4-Ni2Al3 outer layer is formed by inward Al diffusion below the alloy surface, and its growth then continues during the isothermal stage as well. As a result, the chosen isothermal treatment temperature does not affect growth mechanisms, although it modifies the overall thickness of the aluminized layer. \u3b4-Ni2Al3 is converted to \u3b2-NiAl after a subsequent vacuum heat treatment at 1120\ub0C. In a CVD process, where gaseous precursor are introduced only after attaining the isothermal treatment stage, Al and Ni diffuse simultaneously from the very beginning of the aluminizing process and \u3b2-NiAl is directly developed.Less mobile species (heavy atoms, such as W) in the alloy composition hinder all diffusion phenomena, both during pack aluminizing and during subsequent vacuum heat treatment: after aluminizing, precipitates are developed within the \u3b4-Ni2Al3 outer layer and, after vacuum heat treatment, the resulting \u3b2-NiAl layer exhibits a compositional gradient