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Titanium dioxide (TiO2) coatings, renowned for their photocatalytic properties, are of significant interest for environmental and industrial applications. This study investigates the deposition of black titanium oxide (BTO)- containing coatings using the atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) process, employing an argon-hydrogen plasma mixture. The influence of hydrogen flow rate, spray distance, and powder feed rate on the structure and mechanical properties of the resulting coatings was examined. Deposited coatings were examined in terms of their structure, thickness porosity and specific surface area. Examination of the mechanical properties included hardness test and Young's modulus measurement. Presence of partially sintered fine droplets was revealed by SEM observations and mechanism of their formation was discussed. The examination of mechanical properties showed that within the examined parameters, spray distance has the greatest impact on Young's modulus, hardness and porosity of the coatings, while the powder feed rate affects coatings thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents new results of manufacturing coatings by magnetron sputtering to improve the functional properties of joint endoprostheses. The antibacterial properties of Ti-Cu and Ta-Cu coatings deposited by DC multi-magnetron sputtering on Ti6Al4V alloy substrates subjected of gas-abrasive treatment have been investigated. The roughness of the substrate was measured by optical profilometry. The coating hardness and elastic modulus were estimated by nanoindentation methods; the adhesion characteristics were assessed by Rockwell test. Scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis verified the application of coatings with 25 at.% Cu, at thicknesses of 2 μm and 10 μm to roughened Ti6Al4V alloy. All coatings demonstrated sufficient adhesion, whereas Ta-Cu coatings generally revealed higher hardness, while the elastic modulus decreased with increasing coating thickness. Staphylococcus aureus strains were used for in vitro study of the antibacterial properties of Ti-Cu and Ta-Cu coatings. The largest zones of inhibition of bacteria S. aureus 23 mm were observed for 10 µm Ta-Cu coating thickness. The release dynamics of Cu ions from Ta-Cu and Ti-Cu coatings into physiological solution analyzed over seven days via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, matched the inhibition zone growth. The Ti-Cu and Ta-Cu coatings of 2 µm thickness provided weaker antibacterial effect. The optimal parameters of magnetron sputtering of antibacterial Ti-Cu and Ta-Cu coatings on Ti6Al4 alloy substrates were selected. These findings support the potential of these coatings in developing endoprosthesis implants with enhanced antimicrobial and wear-resistant properties [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) allows deposition of ceramic coatings on metallic substrate, significantly increasing the wear resistance of the component. Coating's microstructure and consequently its properties, depend on heat treatment of the feedstock particles. This property can be controlled by process parameters, especially electric power and spray distance. On the other hand, some plasma torches allow introducing another variable, an injection mode, which could be realized in external or in internal way. In the presented research, wear resistance of Al2O3+13 wt.% TiO2 coatings deposited under various values of spray distance and different injection modes were examined using ASTM G-99 procedure. The impact of spraying parameters on the coating's microstructure was established and connected to the functional properties of the manufactured deposits. Observed differences indicated influence of injection mode and spray distance value. Coatings deposited with internal feedstock injection exhibit lower porosity and slightly higher hardness than these made with external injection mode. In terms of wear resistance for both spray distance the wear factor was lower for internal injection system. Obtained results confirmed assumed thesis, that internal injection mode improves heat treatment and consequently ameliorate wear performance of plasma sprayed alumina-titania coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cermet coatings are one of the best surface protection of machine elements against wear. On the other hand, the most universal and economically justified method of applying such coatings is high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spraying. This method makes it possible to produce coatings characterized by compact structure, low porosity and very good adhesion to the substrate. All these fundamental properties contribute to the high wear resistance of these coatings. However, carrying out full wear tests (e.g. ball-on-disc) is time-consuming, especially when it is necessary to select the proper feedstock material and carefully selected process parameters. The aim of the following researches was to statistically investigate the possibility of replacing long-term wear resistance tests with estimation of this performance on the basis of determining the fundamental mechanical properties of the coatings. Three types of coating materials were selected: WC-12Co, WC-10Co-4Cr and WC-20Cr3C2-7Ni, which were deposited on AZ31 magnesium alloy substrates from three different spray distances: 320, 360 and 400 mm. On the basis of the tests carried out and using cluster analysis techniques (the Ward and k-means methods), the relative similarity between the obtained coatings was determined. The applied methodology allowed to select from the analyzed cermet coatings such samples that were characterized by improved resistance to abrasive wear. The obtained results of the analyzes were also referred to the results of tests of resistance to abrasive wear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manuscript analyzes the impact of the HVOF (high-velocity oxygen fuel) coating spraying technology on a substrate made of a light and high-specific-strength magnesium casting alloy from the AZ31 series. Among others, the following were examined: the influence of the spraying distance of coatings using commercial cermet powders (WC–Co, WC–Co–Cr, and WC–Cr3C2–Ni) on their resistance to erosive wear. It is worth emphasizing the energy savings resulting from the possibility of spraying on the surfaces of existing machine parts to protect or regenerate them. Energy savings result from the possibility of recycling the substrate material (AZ31), as well as from extending the functionality of an existing element without the need to dispose of it and the energy-intensive production of a new component. Tests have shown that the best resistance to the destructive effects of erodent in the form of hard corundum particles is characterized by a WC–Co–Cr coating sprayed at a distance of 320 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnesium alloys are very interesting engineering materials because of their high strength-to-density ratio. On the other hand, they are characterized by low hardness as well as low erosion resistance. Because of these reasons, their applications in the industry are very limited. The article presents the results of the high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spraying of the hard cermet coatings onto AZ31 magnesium alloy substrate. Three feedstock powders were used in the process with composition (wt.%): WC-12Co, WC-10Co-4Cr and WC-20Cr3C2Ni. The spray distance (SD) was selected as a variable parameter with values equal to 320 and 400 mm. Observations carried out under a scanning electron microscope (SEM) revealed a typical HVOF-sprayed microstructure with a compact structure and low porosity (below 3 vol.%). The hardness of the manufactured coatings, ranging from 912 HV0.2 to 1328 HV0.2, what was significantly higher than the substrate. The solid particle erosion tests were carried out according to the ASTM G76-04 standard. Erosive experiments were done for 30°, 60° and 90° inclination angles of the nozzle using Al2O3 abrasive. Erosion tests confirm that cermets exhibit substantial erosion resistance better than the substrate. The highest erosion resistance was noted for WC-10Co-4Cr coatings. The erosion rate for cermet coatings was mostly below 0.9 mg/min, whereas for the AZ31 it was more than 1.5 mg/min. In the case of the average erosion value, it was between 12 and 22 times lower than for the substrate. Results analysis reveal that shorter spray distance decreases porosity, increases hardness, and finally supports erosion resistance of the cermets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this work was to carry out comparative studies of WC-Co-Cr coatings deposited using the high velocity oxy fuel (HVOF) method onto two types of substrate material: structural steel S235 and magnesium alloy AZ31. The influence of the substrate material type on the microstructure, phase composition, crystallite size, porosity, Vickers microhardness, instrumental hardness (HIT), Young's modulus (EIT), and fracture toughness was investigated. For both substrates, the deposited coatings deposited were characterized with fine-grained and compact microstructure. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed presence of following phases: WC, W2C, Co0.9W0.1, and Co3W9C4. The WC phase was the most desirable and stable one with crystallites were below 100 nm. On the other hand, the size of the W2C crystallites was below 30 nm. The coatings obtained showed porosity values equal to 2.3 ± 0.4 vol% and 2.8 ± 0.7 vol% for AZ31 and S235, respectively. The average Vickers microhardness for both types of sample was appproximately 1200 HV0.3. The average HIT values for carbide particles and metallic matrix were around 29 GPa and 6.5 GPa, respectively. In the case of EIT, it was around 620 GPa and 190 GPa for WC and Co-Cr, respectively. The differences between coatings were negligible. The EIT value for both coatings was equal to 344 ± 11 GPa. The fracture toughness was around 4.5 MPa · m1/2 in both cases. The investigations revealed that it is possible to replace steel substrate material with a much lighter equivalent, in this case AZ31 alloy, without deterioration of the coating properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes spark plasma sintering of ceramics based on silicon carbide with nanoadditives, as follows: MnOnano 5.5 wt. % + Al2O3nano 2.0 wt. % + SiCnm (37–57 wt. %) + SiCµm (31–51 wt. %) + SiO2µm 4.5 wt. %. Sintering was carried out at 2000 °C. The diffraction pattern of the analyzed sample showed the presence of silicon carbide with a hexagonal crystal lattice. Residual amounts of rhombohedral SiC, α-Fe, and a solid solution of silicon in iron were also found. The method of thermogravimetric analysis established the change in mass, heat flow, temperature of the samples, and the change in the partial pressures of gases during the experiment. Samples obtained by SPS show a higher density of the material at the level of 3.3 g/cm3, average mechanical strength of 454 MPa, and microhardness of 35 GPa, compared with samples obtained by liquid-phase sintering. The SPS method also made it possible to obtain materials with a higher density (by 8%) and practically no significant crystal growth compared to samples obtained by liquid phase sintering. The results of the study facilitate the achievement of a combination of new approaches to the design of compositions and the technology of manufacturing SiC ceramics, which significantly expands their areas of application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cermet coatings provide protection against an aggressive operating environment of machine and device elements, such as corrosion, wear or high-temperature conditions. Currently, WC-based cermet coatings are frequently used in different industry branches. In this work, conventional WC-based powders (WC-Co and WC-Co-Cr) were sprayed with high velocity oxy fuel (HVOF) onto AZ31 magnesium alloy with different spray distances (320 and 400 mm). The research aimed to investigate the effect of the spray distance on the microstructure of the coatings, phase composition and electrochemical corrosion resistance. Results revealed that a higher spray distance results in greater porosity, 1.9% and 2.3% for 320 mm and 2.8% and 3.1% for 400 mm in the case of WC-Co and WC-Co-Cr coatings, respectively. Also, an impact on coatings microhardness was observed, c.a. 1300 HV0.3 for shorter spray distances, whereas for longer ones it was less than 1100 HV0.3. The corrosion resistance estimated in potentiodynamic polarization measurements was the best for WC-Co-Cr coating deposited from the shorter spray distance, corrosion current density was equal to 2:9 μA·cm-2 and polarization resistance was equal to 8424 Ω·cm2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of surface engineering, thermal spraying is very wide adopted in many branches of the industry. The main reasons of such situation are its flexibility as well as cost effectiveness. Among others, high velocity oxy fuel (HVOF) technique is dedicated for spraying hardmetal and cermet coatings, especially for wear- and corrosion resistance. Such type of coating could be a promising candidate as protective layer for magnesium alloys elements. These materials need a strong improvement in the corrosion protection as well as on the field of wear resistance in order to be widely used in the industry. In this work, different WC-based coatings, namely: (i) WC-Co, (ii) WC-Co-Cr and (iii) WC-Cr3 C2 -Ni manufactured by HVOF spraying, were investigated. The form of all feedstock materials was agglomerated and sintered powder. All coatings were sprayed with the same technological parameters, especially spray distance which was equal to 400 mm on the AZ91 magnesium alloy substrate. The main aim of the studies was to investigate the influence of the powder material on the corrosion resistance of obtained coatings. The manufactured coatings were examined in terms of its microstructure, using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and corrosion performance, which was assessed in the electrochemical corrosion investigations in 3.5% NaCl solution by Tafel method. The study showed that the corrosion resistance increasing in such order: AZ91 < WC-Cr3 C2 -Ni < WC-Co < WC-Co-Cr. It should be stressed that WC-Cr3 C2 -Ni coating exhibits very low corrosion performance, which could be effected by relatively high porosity (c.a. 3 vol.%) and because of that the more complex composition promotes creation of many corrosion cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the computational studies of microstructure- and topography- related features of suspension plasma sprayed (SPS) coatings of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ). The study mainly covers the porosity assessment, provided by ImageJ software analysis. The influence of boundary conditions, defined by: (i) circularity and (ii) size limits, on the computed values of porosity is also investigated. Additionally, the digital topography evaluation is performed: confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) operating in Shape from Shading (SFS) mode measure surface roughness of deposited coatings. Computed values of porosity and roughness are referred to the variables of the spraying process, which influence the morphology of coatings and determines the possible fields of their applications.

Application of computational methods in engineering and science constantly increases, which is also visible in sector of material science, often with promising results. In following paper, authors would like to propose fractal dimension, a mathematical method of quantifying self-similarity and complexity of spatial patterns, as robust method of hardness estimation of low carbon steels. A dataset of microstructure images and corresponding Vickers hardness measurements of S235JR steel under different delivery conditions was created. Then, three different computational methods for evaluation of materials hardness based on microstructure image were tested. In this paper those methods are called: (i) Otsu-based index, (ii) fractal dimension index and (iii) vision transformer index. The results were compared with method used in literature for similar problems. Comparison showed that fractal dimension performs better than other evaluated methods, in terms of median absolute error, which value was equal to 4.12 HV1, which is significantly lower than results achieved by Otsu-based index and vision transformer index, which were 4.49 HV1 and 5.07 HV1 respectively. Those results can be attributed to the relative robustness of fractal dimension index, when compared to other methods. Robust estimation is preferable, due to the high amount of noise in the dataset, which is a consequence of the nature of used material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the computational studies on the microstructure of WC-Co-Cr coatings deposited by High Velocity Oxy Fuel spraying (HVOF). The study covers the porosity assessment according to ASTM E2109-01 standard, carried out in ImageJ software, in terms of volume porosity, size and shape of the pores. The evaluation was preceded by scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations at magnifications of 2000x and 5000x. Additionally, topography analysis has been performed by confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), and the surface roughness Ra was evaluated by the contact method with use of a stylus profilometer. Finally, the influence of porosity was observed for coatings microhardness HV0.3. According to the results, the total closed porosity was found to be in the range of 5.01 vol.% and 5.38 vol.%. The dominated pores in the coatings were of size 0.1-1.0 μm. Studies showed that HVOF process enabled deposition of dense coatings, characterized by homogenous distribution of pores and low roughness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnesium alloys are very interesting engineering materials due to their very high strength to density ratio (the best among metallic alloys). However, because of low hardness as well as low resistance against erosion, abrasion and corrosion, their applications in the industry is very limited. In order to improve mechanical performances, deposition of hardening coating by thermal spraying was proposed. In this work, the WC-based coatings with different binder (Co or Ni) and co-hardening additives (Cr or Cr3C2) manufactured by high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) were studied. These coatings were deposited onto AZ31 magnesium alloy. The crucial problem is obtaining goodadhered coating without damage the substrate, because of relatively low temperature resistance of magnesium alloys (about 300 °C). To solve this problem, HVOF method, which is low temperature and high velocity, was proposed. Also an important role plays process parameters (e.g. spray distance, fuel medium, type of nozzle). The goal of the study was to compare three types of cermet coatings manufactured from commercially available powders (WC-Co, WC-Co-Cr and WC-Cr3C2-Ni) in terms of their microstructure features, microhardness, instrumented indentation and fracture toughness. Results revealed that selected process parameters made it possible to obtain well-adhered coating with good fulfillment of the surface unevenness of the AZ31 substrate. The most noticeable effect was influence of cobalt matrix on higher hardness (1.4 - 1.6 GPa) and Young modulus (330 - 340 GPa) of deposited coatings in compare to the nickel matrix ones (1.2 GPa and 305 GPa, respectively). The same trend was observed in case of fracture toughness, c.a. 6.5 MPa·m1/2 for Co-matrix and 4.9 MPa·m1/2 for Ni-matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma sprayed ceramic coatings serve as protective layers and are frequently exposed to aggressive wear, corrosion, or high-temperature environment. Currently, alumina and alumina-titania are some of the most popular protective ceramic composite coatings used in the industry. The present work deals with the investigation of the influence of TiO2 content in the feedstock powder on the resulting microstructure and properties of Al2O3, Al2O3 + 3 wt% TiO2, Al2O3 + 13 wt% TiO2 and Al2O3 + 40 wt% TiO2 coatings developed via atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). Specifically, the phase composition, morphology, and microstructure, as well as the mechanical and tribological performance of the coatings were examined. Results revealed that higher content of TiO2 induced the transformation of phases, leading to the formation of intermediary Al2TiO5 and Al2-xTi1-xO5 phases. Also, the dominant α-Al2O3 to γ-Al2O3 transformation confirmed the formulation of well-melted lamellas within the coating structure. It was also shown that the increase in TiO2 content decreased the micro-hardness of the coatings due to the formation of the intermediary phases as mentioned above and thus, affected their tribological performance. The lowest volumetric wear, equal to 7.2x10-5 mm3/(N. m), was reported for Al2O3 + 13 wt% TiO2 coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the yttria stabilised zirconia ZrO2 + 8 wt% Y2O3 (YSZ) coatings were studied. The coatings were manufactured by using a relatively new method based on liquid feedstock, called suspension plasma spraying (SPS). The main aim of the study was to investigate the influence of one of the fundamental process parameters, stand-off distance, on the YSZ coating mechanical properties, namely adhesion, cohesion, hardness, and dry sliding wear resistance. Moreover, the coating surface morphology and microstructure were investigated. Despite the fact that in the SPS method, the heat flux into the substrate is much higher than in conventional atmospheric plasma spraying (APS), for the stand-off distances as short as 40 mm, the structure has not been damaged by thermal stresses. The results revealed that shorter spray distance leads to obtaining the coatings characterised by higher cohesion and adhesion to the substrate as well as higher hardness and resistance to sliding wear. The wear mechanism of both YSZ coatings relies on the adhesive mode, which is intensified by severe coating material delamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper briefly describes major thermal spray techniques used to spray functionally graded coatings such as atmospheric plasma spraying, high velocity oxy-fuel spraying, suspension and solution precursor plasma spraying, and finally low and high pressure cold gas spray method. The examples of combined spray processes as well as some examples of post spray treatment including laser and high temperature treatments or mechanical one, are described. Then, the solid and liquid feedstocks used to spray and their properties are shortly discussed. The reviewed properties of functional coatings include: (i) mechanical (adhesion, toughness, hardness); (ii) physical (porosity, thermal conductivity and diffusivity, thermal expansion, photo-catalytic activity), and; (iii) bioactivity and simulated body fluid (SBF) corrosion. These properties are useful in present applications of functionally graded coatings as thermal barriers, the bioactive coatings in prostheses, photo-catalytic coatings in water treatment, coatings used in printing industry (anilox and corona rolls). Finally, some of the future possible fields of functional thermal sprayed coatings applications are discussed, e.g., to coat polymer substrates or to use the cheap technology of low pressure cold gas spray method instead of expensive technology of vacuum plasma spraying to obtain bond coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, three commercial cermet powders, WC-Co-Cr, WC-Co and WC-Cr3C2-Ni, were sprayed by the High Velocity Oxy Fuel (HVOF) method onto magnesium alloy AZ31 substrate. The coatings were investigated in terms of their microstructure, phase analysis and residual stress. The manufactured coatings were analyzed extensively using optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Based on microstructure studies, it was noted that the coatings show satisfactory homogeneity. XRD analysis shows that in WC-Co, WC-Co-Cr and WC-Cr3C2-Ni coatings, main peaks are related to WC. Weaker peaks such as W2C, Co0.9W0.1, Co and W for WC-Co and W2C, Cr3C2 and Cr7C3 for WC-Cr3C2-Ni also occur. In all cermet coatings, linear stress showed compressive nature. In WC-Co and WC-Cr3C2-Ni, residual stress had a similar value, while in WC-Co-Cr, linear stress was lower. It was also proved that spraying onto magnesium substrate causes shear stress in the WC phase, most likely due to the low elastic modulus of magnesium alloy substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermally sprayed ceramic coatings are applied for the protection of surfaces that are exposed mainly to wear, high temperatures, and corrosion. In recent years, great interest has been garnered by spray processes with submicrometric and nanometric feedstock materials, due to the refinement of the structure and improved coating properties. This paper compares the microstructure and tribological properties of alumina coatings sprayed using conventional atmospheric plasma spraying (APS), and various methods that use finely grained suspension feedstocks, namely, suspension plasma spraying (SPS) and suspension high-velocity oxy-fuel spraying (S-HVOF). Furthermore, the suspension plasma-sprayed Al2O3 coatings have been deposited with radial (SPS) and axial (A-SPS) feedstock injection. The results showed that all suspension-based coatings demonstrated much better wear resistance than the powder-sprayed ones. S-HVOF and axial suspension plasma spraying (A-SPS) allowed for the deposition of the most dense and homogeneous coatings. Dense-structured coatings with low porosity (4 vol.%) and good cohesion to the metallic substrate, containing a high content of α–Al2O3 phase (56 vol.%) and a very low wear rate (0.2 ± 0.04 mm3 × 10−6/(N∙m)), were produced with the S-HVOF method. The wear mechanism of ceramic coatings included the adhesive wear mode supported by the fatigue-induced material delamination. Moreover, the presence of wear debris and tribofilm was confirmed. Finally, the coefficient of friction for the coatings was in the range between 0.44 and 0.68, with the highest values being recorded for APS sprayed coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, two different cermet coatings, WC–CrC–Ni and Cr3C2–NiCr, manufactured by the high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) method were studied. They are labeled as follows: WC–CrC–Ni coating—WC and Cr3C2–NiCr coating—CrC. These coatings were deposited onto a magnesium alloy (AZ31) substrate. The goal of the study was to compare these two types of cermet coating, which were investigated in terms of microstructure features and selected mechanical properties, such as hardness, instrumented indentation, fracture toughness, and wear resistance. The results reveal that the WC content influenced the hardness and Young's modulus. The most noticeable effect of WC addition was observed for the wear resistance. WC coatings had a wear intensity value that was almost two times lower, equal to 6.5·10−6 mm3/N·m, whereas for CrC ones it was equal to 12.6·10−6 mm3/N·m. On the other hand, the WC coating exhibited a lower value of fracture toughness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the resistance to thermal fatigue and wear resistance of H13 hot-working tool steel, a nickel-based composite coating was prepared on its surface by laser cladding technology. The relationship was studied between the main processing parameters and the size of the cladding layer such as height and width. Based on the orthogonal polynomial regression method, the relationships were modeled mathematically between laser power, scanning speed, powder feeding voltage and microhardness. This model was proved to be able to predict the laser power and powder feeding voltage under 1100 Hv microhardness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to elaborate a neural model and algorithm for optimizing hardness and porosity of coatings and thus ensure that they have superior cavitation erosion resistance. Al2O3-13 wt% TiO2 ceramic coatings were deposited onto 316L stainless steel by atmospheric plasma spray (ASP). The coatings were prepared with different values of two spray process parameters: the stand-off distance and torch velocity. Microstructure, porosity and microhardness of the coatings were examined. Cavitation erosion tests were conducted in compliance with the ASTM G32 standard. Artificial neural networks (ANN) were employed to elaborate the model, and the multi-objectives genetic algorithm (MOGA) was used to optimize both properties and cavitation erosion resistance of the coatings. Results were analyzed with MATLAB software by Neural Network Toolbox and Global Optimization Toolbox. The fusion of artificial intelligence methods (ANN + MOGA) is essential for future selection of thermal spray process parameters, especially for the design of ceramic coatings with specified functional properties. Selection of these parameters is a multicriteria decision problem. The proposed method made it possible to find a Pareto front, i.e., trade-offs between several conflicting objectives—maximizing the hardness and cavitation erosion resistance of Al2O3-13 wt% TiO2 coatings and, at the same time, minimizing their porosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the cavitation erosion (CE) and sliding wear (SW) resistance of cold-sprayed Al/Al2O3 and Cu/Al2O3 composites and studies them in relation to a set of metallic materials such as aluminium alloy (AlCu4Mg1), pure copper (Cu110), brass (CuZn40Pb2) and stainless steel (AISI 304). The coatings were deposited on stainless steel by low-pressure cold spray (LPCS) using Al (40 wt.%) and Cu (50 wt.%) blended with Al2O3 (60 and 50 wt.%, respectively) feedstocks. CE resistance was estimated by the stationary sample method according to the ASTM G32 standard. The SW test was conducted using a ball-on-disc tester with compliance to the ASTM G99 standard. Results obtained for the LPCS coatings show that the Cu/Al2O3 coating exhibits a denser structure but lower adhesion and microhardness than Al/Al2O3. The Al/Al2O3 and Cu/Al2O3 resistance to cavitation is lower than for bulk alloys; however, composites present higher sliding wear resistance to that of AlCu4Mg1, CuZn40Pb2 and stainless steel. The CE wear mechanisms of LPCS composites start at the structural discontinuities and non-uniformities. The cavitation erosion degradation mechanism of Al/Al2O3 relies on chunk material detachment while that of Cu/Al2O3 initiates by alumina removal and continues as layer-like Cu-metallic material removal. CE damage of metal alloys relies on the fatigue-induced removal of deformed material. The SW mechanism of bulk alloys has a dominant adhesive mode. The addition of Al2O3 successfully reduces the material loss of LPCS composites but increases the friction coefficient. Coatings' wear mechanism has an adhesive-abrasive mode. In both CE and SW environment, the behaviour of the cold-sprayed Cu/Al2O3 composite is much more promising than that of the Al/Al2O3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In present work the Cr3C2–NiCr coating was deposited on magnesium alloy substrate with high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) spraying. The microstructure of the samples has been characterized by means of electron microscopy, SEM and phase composition analysis carried out. The porosity of coatings has been also estimated. Finally, tests of selected mechanical properties, such as instrumented indentation, abrasive erosion have been performed. The results of the investigations confirmed that dense, homogeneous and well-adhered Cr3C2–NiCr cermet coating is possible to obtain onto the magnesium AZ31 alloy substrate. Moreover, the coatings exhibit high resistance to erosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Al2O3 + TiO2 coatings are of the interest of surface technology and tribology due to their good wear resistance and enhanced toughness comparing to pure Al2O3 coatings. However, the detailed effect of the used feedstock powder, is often neglected. Here, this work focuses on the deposition of Al2O3 + 13 wt % TiO2 coatings by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) method as well as on their microstructure, phase composition and selected mechanical properties, in the reference to the route of the powder feedstock preparation. The commercial powder Metco 6221 in agglomerated and sintered form was used as a feedstock material during spraying, due to the fact that, so far, sintered or cladded powders are the most studied ones. The 2k + 1 spray experiment allowed to evaluate the influence of two variables, namely spray distance and torch linear velocity, on the coating microstructure. Afterwards, the coating adhesion was measured by the means of pull-off test. The correlations between Vickers microhardness, fracture toughness (Kc) as well as the coating morphology and phase composition were investigated. Finally, the dry sliding wear resistance was studied by using Ball-on-Disc method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work focuses on issues related to the soldering of graphite composite to 6060 aluminum alloy. The graphite composite is of great interest of the transportation industry as it is widely used in slides responsible for current collection from overhead catenary. The slides should meet various criteria resulting from relatively complex working conditions, e.g., in terms of electrical conductivity, self-lubricating, resistance to changing weather conditions, etc. Such an application has extensive requirements, mainly for a joint of graphite slide with aluminum body. The direct soldering of slide plates made of graphite composite to aluminum alloy collector head causes many technological problems and is not possible. In this study, the application of thin plasma sprayed (APS) copper intermediate layers is investigated for that purpose. After soldering process, the microstructural analysis confirmed the proper joint formulation, i.e., the soldering gap of 0.2 mm was well-filled with the solder over the entire width of joint. The soldered joints were then subjected for static shear testing. The obtained shear strength was in a relatively wide range of 13.04 to 20.50 MPa, which was influenced by various fracture mechanisms. Finally, the fact that reaction zones were not formed in investigated joints during soldering was confirmed by EDS analysis and micro hardness values, which were very similar to the ones of raw materials.