Microstructural Characteristics and Residual Stresses in Arc-Sprayed Cermet Coatings Using Different Carbide Grain Size Fractions.

Different studies have emphasized the technological relevance of residual stresses in engineered surfaces, such as thermally sprayed coatings, and their effect on the fracture and fatigue behavior. In arc-sprayed coatings, the microstructural characteristics and resulting residual stresses are determined primarily by the inherent process characteristics and feedstock material. With the scope of this work, a study on the residual stress field in coatings formed by an arc spraying process for different electric parameter settings has been carried out using different wire configurations. Thus, iron-based cored wires with different grain-sized tungsten carbides as filler material were used as feedstock. The coatings are mainly composed of eutectic carbides, and eta carbides such as M6C, M12C, or M23C and some iron-rich oxide phases, as well as characterized by an inhomogeneous, lamellar microstructure. The results demonstrated that the magnitude of the residual stresses in the coating depends on the carbide grain size fraction used as filling for cored wires. A smaller carbide grain size leads to a more pronounced dissolution of eutectic carbides, resulting in the formation of eta carbides, which in turn is accompanied by decreased tensile residual stresses across the coating. With respect to the spray parameter settings, reduced tensile residual stresses are observed when an increased voltage is applied, which can be attributed to phase evolution phenomena during spraying and thermal effects on the substrate-coating system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]