A D V A N C E D C O A T I N G S O L U T I O N S

®
nanoHVOF - for the most demanding
OD and ID Applications with
WC-CoCr 86 10 4
®
nanoHVOF powder – System Technology
and Application Know-How

Götz Matthäus – General Manager Thermico GmbH & Co. KG, Germany
Michael Molnar – President Thermico USA , Inc.
 Outline

1. Thermico performance profile

2. NANO HVOF R&D Project - advantages of spraying fine powders

3. Problematic of spraying fine powder materials

4. nanoHVOF ® powder

5. nanoHVOF ® is a system

6. Applications
 Thermico
Performance profile

Research and Development

All scientific processes which lead to innovative products are realized in our shop
located in Dortmund - Germany
Spherodized Powder material, Coating and Technology development

System manufacturing
A reliable Spare Part and component production to build up Turnkey Systems for
HVOF and Plasma is done in our shop located in Dortmund - Germany.
ID and OD torches, Powder Feeder, Monitored and computer based Visualization and
Controller Units

International Spray Shop

Located in Dortmund – Germany and Greensboro, NC – USA* we have
nanoHVOF coating Shops for the most demanding OD and ID Applications
Aerospace, Landing Gear, Oil & Gas, Paper Rolls * under construction
EU R&D Project NANO HVOF (4/2000 – 10/2003)
The NANO HVOF EU project shows the idea and the high potential of HVOF
coatings sprayed with fine, 5 - 15 µm powders.

SEM of a 5-15µm agglomerated, Micrograph of a dense WC-CoCr 86 10 4 coating

sintered and crushed WC-CoCr powder

The research and development work of the NANO HVOF EU project only
focused an improvement of coating quality concerning high density and
submicron splat-thickness.
All coatings of this R&D Project where produced with conventional
agglomerated, sintered and crushed powders.
 ?

What are the advantages of spraying powders with particle

sizes less than 15 µm?
 Advantages of spraying fine powders

Diagram shows that particle velocity depends on particle size

 Advantages of spraying fine powders
Kinetic energy depends on particle velocity

400 m/s
30µm
Ek (30µm) ½ m v2 1
------------------- = ------------ = ------------
Ek (5µm) ½ m v2 6,25
1000 m/s
5 µm

Under constant mass flow conditions a comparison between 5 µm and 30 µm particles shows,
the smaller the particle size, the higher the particle velocity.
2
Due to high particle velocity the kinetic energy increases exponentially (EK = ½ mv ).
 Advantages of spraying fine powders
For melting a small particle less thermal energy is needed

Agglomerated, sintered
HVOF standard powder WC-CoCr 86 10 4
and crushed powder

Particle size Particle size

-45 +20 µm -15 +5 µm
HVOF Process energy HVOF Process energy
100 – 250 kW 30 – 80 kW
 Advantages of spraying fine powders
A summary of the advantages shows that the EU R&D NANO
HVOF Project already is a further development of standard HVOF :

- Higher residual compressive stress

due to higher particle velocity

- Improved wear properties, improved

corrosion barrier due to a dense coating
structure with submicron splatthickness

- Reduced amount of heat to work piece,

because to melt a small particle
less energy is needed.
 ?
Concerning the advantages of spraying with particles less
than 15 µm, there is still one question left:

Why is spraying with fine particles not common with HVOF

technology yet?
 Challenges of spraying fine agglomerated,
sintered and crushed powder materials
Fine and crushed powder materials do not allow Near-net shape
sprayed coating applications and ductile ID WC-CoCr coatings

• Crushed particle shape causes insufficient

flow characteristics
- an irregular pulsing powder flow does
not allow Near-net shape Spraying

SEM of a 5-15µm agglomerated, sintered and

crushed WC-CoCr powder

• Crushed particles have a large surface

which is sensitive to be oxidized
- Oxides reduce the ductility of the coating
- With decreasing DE oxides will appear as
dust Inclusions, especially in an ID coating
Internal cracks after ductility test structure.
 Challenges of spraying fine agglomerated,
sintered and crushed powder materials
Fine agglomerated, sintered and crushed powder materials can not
deliver good Seawater Resistance and lower the Wear Resistance

• agglomerated and sintered powders only

provide a sintered Co, Cr metal matrix
- an inhomogeneous phase distribution with
free Co can not deliver a good Seawater
Resistance

• To provide metallurgical bonded Carbides

SEM of a 5-15µm agglomerated, sintered and
crushed WC-CoCr powder
in the matrix, agglomerated and sintered
powders require high temperature and
stand-off in the spray process
- High stand-off do not allow coating of small
Inside Diameter Areas (ID must be > 14”)
- Not metallurgical bonded carbides lower the
Wear Resistance of the coating.
 Demand for WC-CoCr powder material with
optimized characteristics
The use of fine agglomerated, sintered and crushed powder materials
is lowering performance characteristics and coating quality

Problem Solution
Fine agglomerated, sintered and crushed powders: Fine powder material with:
do not allow Near-net shape spraying spheroid particle shape
do not allow ductile Internal Diameter coatings dense, spheroid particle shape
increase the amount of oxides in the coating dense, spheroid particle shape
produce coatings with poor Seawater Resistance matrix providing a melted alloy
do not allow coating of small Inside Diameter Areas metallurgical bonded carbides
have lower Wear Resistance, limited by process temperature metallurgical bonded carbides

Thermico has coped with this challenge…

 To achieve more performance characteristics and a higher coating quality further
Research and Development of powder materials and System Technology was done by
Thermico from 2006 up to 2010.
 ®
nanoHVOF Powder
Controlled Plasma Spherodization to achieve ultrafine and highly
®
optimized nanoHVOF powder
Feedstock Material Controlled Process nanoHVOF® Powder
WC-CoCr 86 10 4 WC-CoCr 86 10 4

Feedstock material < 10 µm Spherodized particle shape provides a matrix consisting

and a primary carbide size Plasma Spherodization of a 14 wt% CoCr28 melted alloy in which the
of 400 – 900 nm submicron carbides are metallurgical bonded
 ®
nanoHVOF Powder
Quality Control and parameter adjustment to ensure a reliable
powder production

Particle shape by SEM Element detection by EDX-Analysis Bulk density

by hall flowmeter funnel

Feedback of Powder Quality

Process Input
The Controlled Plasma Spherodization Process is based on
a measurement and adjustment of:
• Plasma Power • Plasma gas composition • Powder feed rate • Inert gas flow
• Plasma gas flow •Powder gas flow
 ®
nanoHVOF Powder
Controlled Plasma spherodization means to get the right quality of the
metallurgical structure with only a very low amount of W2C phases

X-Ray Diffraction of a WC-CoCr particle shows the structure after

controlled Plasma Spherodization
 ®
nanoHVOF Powder
®
Tailored nanoHVOF Powder cuts enable maximal Deposit Efficiency and
an as-sprayed surface roughness less than 1.5 µm Ra

Really smooth HVOF

Ultra fine powders
produce ultra fine splats

Ultra fine splats

produce ultra fine surfaces

-5+2 µm or -10+5 µm
ultra fine nanoHVOF® Powder cuts

+ Save on grinding + Save on finishing + Save powder + Reduce overall costs

 ®
nanoHVOF Coating quality
More than smooth – nanoHVOF ® performance characteristics

Hard
Inside and outside diameter coatings with
Hardness > 1200 HV 0.3 (Standard deviation of ± 30 HV 0.3)

Ductile
Performs well in
tests such as a Guided Bend Test

Vickers-indent with1Kg at the

interface (Substrate / coating),
without any formation of cracks
 ®
nanoHVOF Coating quality
More than smooth – nanoHVOF ® performance characteristics

Dense
Coating structure with virtually Zero Porosity,
to survive more than 1000 hours in a Salt
Fog Test by 50 µm coating thickness

Near-net
Allows for coating thickness
accuracy of ±15 µm as-sprayed

Corrosion resistant
Nanostructured Coating with homogeneous
phase distribution providing a melted CoCr28
melted alloy matrix for high Seawater Resistance
 ®
nanoHVOF is a System
To achieve superior coating quality for the most demanding OD and ID
Applications

nanoHVOF® Powder
Ultra fine, spherodized and nano structured powder

nanoHVOF® System Technology

Powder feeder, torch and system technologies optimized for spraying
ultra fine nanoHVOF® powder

nanoHVOF® Application Know-How

Thermico experience and training means successful coating developments
for the most demanding applications
 ®
nanoHVOF is a System
Powder feeder
Feeding ultra fine powders with particle sizes less than 10 µm is a challenge
 ®
nanoHVOF is a System
Powder feeder
CPF-2 Powder feeder for standard, micro and nanoHVOF ® Powders
 ®
nanoHVOF is a System
Powder feeder
Precise dosage of fluidized Powder by gravimetric feeding principle
with controlled rotation of the feeding wheel

Feeding wheel Feeding principal Balancer

 ®
nanoHVOF is a System
Powder feeder
3rd Generation of the CPF Powder Feeder Software and visualization to
control the feeding Process and get a constant powder flow

In Control
Customizable start and feeding parameter, trend
data storage and on-line visualization
 ®
nanoHVOF is a System
OD and ID Torches
Torch technology for outside and inside diameter coatings

CJS K5.2-N ID CoolFlow-N

OD-Applications ID-Applications
 ®
nanoHVOF is a System
OD and ID Torches
Dual chamber, hydrogen stabilized kerosene combustion reduces thermal
load to substrate and powder materials

Principal of Thermico CJS K5.2-N HVOF torch

N2 , Increased volume of Mach 1 – 2.5

2. combustion chamber Super sonic area
• High pressure Area • Low turbulence level for
• Main part of combustion the supersonic jet

N2 , • Cold ignition point for powder

1. combustion chamber
• Hydrogen stabilized Optimized for spraying fine powders
Kerosene/O2-Combustion with high affinity to oxygen
 ®
nanoHVOF is a System
OD and ID Torches
To achieve a high quality coating structure with a very low amount of
oxides it is recommended to choose a spray parameter with λ ≤ 1
Provided amount of Oxygen, due to process parameter
λ=
Required Amount of Oxygen for 100% combustion of combustibles

B
A
B
Combustion chamber principle of CJS K5.2-N and ID CoolFlow-N
A: Combustibles
Hydrogen stabilized O2 / Kerosene combustion, due to vaporization of Kerosene jet
by entering in the second combustion chamber

B: Nitrogen + Oxygen
If λ = 1, than nitrogen is used as an inert cooling gas which increases the jet velocity by its
controllable mass flow.
The C-CJS Nitrogen Technology allows for achieving a high amount of
kinetic energy in the spray process without adding further thermal energy.
 ®
nanoHVOF is a System
System technology
Control, visualization and analysis of the process

State of the Art Soft- and Hardware for HVOF and Plasma

NANO HVOF
 ®
nanoHVOF is a System
System technology
On-line Process monitoring and analysis

On-line Spray-jet-geometry monitoring system. On-line spray-jet visualization via USB-Camera

Observation of spray-spot and jet.

Trend data storage of all mass flows

 ®
nanoHVOF Applications
CJS K5.2-N
Outside diameter coatings

Turbine Blades
Near-net, nano structured
droplet erosion coatings

Landing Gear
Smooth surfaces and
close control of coating
thickness lead to reduced
grinding and finishing
costs on outside diameter
surfaces
 ®
nanoHVOF Applications
CJS K5.2-N
Outside diameter coatings

Gas Turbines
Low oxide HVOF sprayed
metal coatings, for example,
MCrAlY and T-800

Hard Chrome replacement

Hydraulic Actuators, Rolls,
Mud Rotors and other general
applications
 ®
nanoHVOF Applications
CJS K5.2-N
CJS K5.2-N for cost-effective applications with brilliant results
 ®
nanoHVOF Applications
Critical pumps in crude oil and FCC process are an example for a single
application which demands for OD and ID Spraying

pump case pump cover pump impeller

 ®
nanoHVOF Applications
ID CoolFlow-N
Inside diameter coatings

Landing Gear
Coating inside diameters for
hard chrome replacement even
on temperature sensitive
substrate materials without
extra cooling

Automotive
Inside diameter Al-SiC-Cu-Mg
coating
 ®
nanoHVOF Applications
ID CoolFlow-N
Inside diameter coatings

Pumps
Non Line-of-Side spraying
improves erosion and
corrosion protection inside
casings, bushings and
sleeves

Pipes and Risers

Inconel and Tungsten Carbide
coatings of Pipes and Risers
reduce maintenance costs
 ®
nanoHVOF Applications
ID CoolFlow-N
ID CoolFlow-N applications beginning from 4“ inside diameter

Trough hole internal exhaustion

107.0°C
 ®
nanoHVOF Applications
ID CoolFlow-N
Pump case and Non-Line-of sight spraying

Critical pumps in crude oil and fluid catalytic cracking

FCC processes
 ®
nanoHVOF Applications
ID CoolFlow-N
Pump case and Non-Line-of sight spraying
 ®
nanoHVOF Application
Facing sophisticating Applications
Rotational Media Transfer Unit (RMTU)

ID CoolFlow-N torch with Extension and RMTU

 ®
nanoHVOF Application
Facing sophisticating Applications
Rotational Media Transfer Unit (RMTU)

RMTU equipped for spraying Control box

Thank you very much for your attention!