Effect of Total Combustion Flow and Combustion Ratio on the Cavitation Resistance of Hydrogen HVOF-Sprayed WC-Co-Cr Coatings
摘要
This work investigates the relationship between the cavitation resistance of WC-Co-Cr coatings and the high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spraying parameters utilized during their deposition. The coatings were applied using a fully automated spraying process with hydrogen and oxygen as combustion gases. A Design of Experiments (DoE) methodology was implemented, incorporating two factors—Total Combustion Flow (TCF) and Combustion Ratio (CR) —with three repetitions to ensure experimental repeatability. Cavitation resistance was evaluated according to the ASTM G32 standard. The results indicate that total combustion flow significantly influenced key coating characteristics, including roughness, microstructure, hardness, and WC retention index, whereas the combustion ratio exhibited no statistically significant effect. It was possible to improve the cavitation resistance of the WC-Co-Cr coatings using high levels of total combustion flow and a combustion ratio close to the stoichiometric point of the gas mixture.