See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/222833347

Effects of tungsten carbide thermal spray coating by HP/HVOF and hard

chromium electroplating on AISI 4340 high strength steel

Article  in  Surface and Coatings Technology · April 2001

DOI: 10.1016/S0257-8972(00)01148-8

CITATIONS READS

110 5,031

5 authors, including:

Marcelino Pereira do Nascimento Renato Chaves Souza

São Paulo State University Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of São Paulo
38 PUBLICATIONS   381 CITATIONS    30 PUBLICATIONS   200 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Walter Luis Pigatin Herman Voorwald

15 PUBLICATIONS   452 CITATIONS   
São Paulo State University
159 PUBLICATIONS   3,033 CITATIONS   
SEE PROFILE
SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Propriedades mecânicas e fadiga cíclica de cerâmicas biocompatíveis à base de compósitos ZrO2-Al2O3-biovidro View project

The effect of 3IP treatment on the fatigue and corrosion resistance of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Marcelino Pereira do Nascimento on 03 November 2017.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Surface and Coatings Technology 138 Ž2001. 113᎐124

Effects of tungsten carbide thermal spray coating by

HPrHVOF and hard chromium electroplating on AISI 4340
high strength steel

Marcelino P. Nascimento a,U , Renato C. Souzab, Ivancy M. Miguel a , Walter L.

Pigatin c , Herman J.C. Voorwalda
a
State Uni¨ ersity of Sao ´ SP r BR-CEP: 12500-000,
˜ Paulo- DMT-UNESPr FEG, A¨ . Ariberto Pereira da Cunha, 333-Guaratinguetar
Brazil
b
FAENQUILr DEMAR, Lorenar SP r BR-CEP:12600-000, Brazil
c
˜ Jose´ dos Camposr SP r BR-CEP: 12237-540, Brazil
EMBRAER-LIEBHERRr EDE, Sao

Received 26 August 1999; received in revised form 5 October 2000; accepted 7 November 2000

Abstract

In cases of decorative and functional applications, chromium results in protection against wear and corrosion combined with
chemical resistance and good lubricity. However, pressure to identify alternatives or to improve conventional chromium
electroplating mechanical characteristics has increased in recent years, related to the reduction in the fatigue strength of the base
material and to environmental requirements. The high efficiency and fluoride-free hard chromium electroplating is an
improvement to the conventional process, considering chemical and physical final properties. One of the most interesting,
environmentally safer and cleaner alternatives for the replacement of hard chrome plating is tungsten carbide thermal spray
coating, applied by the high velocity oxy-fuel ŽHVOF. process. The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of the tungsten
carbide thermal spray coating applied by the HPrHVOF process and of the high efficiency and fluoride-free hard chromium
electroplating Žin the present paper called ‘accelerated’., in comparison to the conventional hard chromium electroplating on the
AISI 4340 high strength steel behaviour in fatigue, corrosion, and abrasive wear tests. The results showed that the coatings were
damaging to the AISI 4340 steel behaviour when submitted to fatigue testing, with the tungsten carbide thermal spray coatings
showing the better performance. Experimental data from abrasive wear tests were conclusive, indicating better results from the
WC coating. Regarding corrosion by salt spray test, both coatings were completely corroded after 72 h exposure. Scanning
electron microscopy technique ŽSEM. and optical microscopy were used to observe crack origin sites, thickness and adhesion in
all the coatings and microcrack density in hard chromium electroplatings, to aid in the results analysis. 䊚 2001 Elsevier Science
B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Tungsten carbide thermal spray coating; Hard chromium electroplating; Abrasive wear; Corrosion; Fatigue; HPrHVOF

U
Corresponding author. Tel.: q55-12-525-2800; fax: q55-12-515-2466.
E-mail address: pereira@feg.unesp.br ŽM.P. Nascimento..

0257-8972r01r$ - see front matter 䊚 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 2 5 7 - 8 9 7 2 Ž 0 0 . 0 1 1 4 8 - 8
114 M.P. Nascimento et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 138 (2001) 113᎐124
1. Introduction
Chromium plating is the most used electrodeposited
coating to obtain high levels of hardness, resistance to
wear and corrosion and a low coefficient of friction for
applications in the aerospace, automotive and
petrochemical fields w1,2x. Chromium plating proper-
ties, such as hardness and microcrack density, change
with the bath composition, current density, bath agita-
tion, temperature, etc. w3,4x. Among other things, a
significant characteristic of chromium electroplating is
the high tensile residual internal stresses originating
from the decomposition of chromium hydrides during
the electrodeposition process w3᎐5x. These high tensile
stresses in electroplated chromium coatings increase as
thickness increases and are relieved by local micro-
cracking during electroplating. Therefore, basically, mi-
crocrack density is related to the high tensile residual
internal stresses, hardness, and corrosion resistance
w2,3,6x. It was observed that the residual stresses
through-thickness decrease with the depth of the coat-
ing and increase again at the coating᎐substrate inter-
face w7x. Bending fatigue tests on samples with different
coatings and coating conditions indicate that the fa-
tigue strength is dependent on the fracture behaviour
of the substrates and on the hardness and residual
stresses at the substrate surface. It was also observed
that the hard chromium electroplating reduces the
fatigue strength of a component w8x. Due to this fact,
the design of hard chromium plated components, which
are subjected to dynamic loads, may consider this nega-
tive influence to guarantee safety during operation.
Therefore, the use of effective methods to improve the
fatigue strength shall be considered. Shot peening is a
well-known process to increase fatigue life of structures
subjected to constant and variable amplitude loading.
The compressive residual stress obtained by surface
plastic deformation is responsible for the increase in
fatigue strength in shot peened mechanical compo-
nents w9x. Compressive residual stresses induced by
machining processes are also responsible for the im-
provement in fatigue resistance of AISI 4340 steel w10x.
Increase in the fatigue crack propagation resistance in
AISI 4340 steel with electron beam surface hardening
was associated to residual stress distribution and mi-
crostructural characteristics w11x. However, problems
concerning chrome plating, such as health and environ-
mental hazards, increasing costs and a performance not
in accordance with the specifications, have resulted in a
search to identify possible alternatives w12x. Aircraft
landing gear manufacturers are considering tungsten
carbide ŽWC. thermal spray coatings applied by the
high velocity oxy-fuel ŽHVOF. process as an alternative
to hard chrome plating. The question to be answered is
if the performance of the alternative candidate is at
least comparable to results obtained for hard chrome
plating. Comparisons of experimental data showed bet-
ter corrosion resistance for several HVOF coatings
with respect to chrome plating. In the case of fatigue
and friction tests, the results were acceptable, indicat-
ing interesting perspectives on the use of tungsten
carbide coating to replace chrome-plating w1x. Analysis
of the wear performance of tungsten carbide coated
samples in the presence of air, aqueous and aqueous
abrasive media indicated better results in terms of
volume loss and change in surface roughness than for
the mild steel substrate w13x. The objective of this
research is to compare the influence of the tungsten
carbide thermal spray coating applied by HPrHVOF
and hard-chromium plating on the fatigue strength,
abrasive wear and corrosion resistance of AISI 4340
steel. S᎐N curves were obtained in rotating bending
and axial fatigue tests for the base material, chromium
plated, and tungsten carbide coated specimens.
2. Experimental procedures
AISI 4340 steel is widely used in aircraft components
where strength and toughness are fundamental design
requirements. The chemical analysis of the material
used in this research indicates accordance with specifi-
cations.
The fatigue experimental program was performed on
rotating bending and axial fatigue test specimens ma-
chined from hot rolled, quenched and tempered bars
according to Figs. 1 and 2, respectively. The specimens
were polished in the reduced section with 600 grit
papers, inspected dimensionally and by magnetic parti-
cle inspection. Fatigue tests specimens were quenched
from 815᎐845⬚C in oil Ž20⬚C. and tempered in the
range of 520 " 5⬚C for 2 h. The mechanical properties
of the material after the heat treatment are: hardness
of 39 HRC; yield tensile strength of 1118 MPa, and
ultimate tensile strength of 1210 MPa. After final
preparation, samples were subjected to a stress relieve
heat treatment at 190⬚C for 4 h to reduce residual
stresses induced by machining. Average superficial
roughness in the reduced section of the samples was
R a f 2.75 ␮m and a standard deviation ŽS.D.. of 0.89
␮m.
Rotating bending fatigue tests were conducted using
a sinusoidal load of frequency 50 Hz, and load ratio
R s y1, at room temperature. For axial fatigue tests, a
sinusoidal load of frequency 50 Hz and load ratio
R s 0.1 was applied throughout this study. Both tests
consider as fatigue strength the complete fracture of
the specimens or 10 7 load cycles. Four groups of fa-
tigue specimens were prepared to obtain S᎐N curves
for rotating bending fatigue and axial fatigue tests.
 M.P. Nascimento et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 138 (2001) 113᎐124
Fig. 1. Rotating bending fatigue testing specimen.
2.1. For rotating bending fatigue tests
䢇 12 smooth samples of base material;
䢇 13 samples with 160 ␮m thickness of conventional
hard chromium electroplated;
䢇 13 samples with 100 ␮m thickness of accelerated
hard chromium electroplated; and
䢇 13 samples with 100 ␮m thickness of tungsten car-
bide thermal spray coated by HPrHVOF process.
2.2. For axial fatigue tests
䢇 10 smooth samples of base material;
䢇 15 samples with 160 ␮m thickness of conventional
hard chromium electroplated;
䢇 7 samples with 100 ␮m thickness of accelerated
hard chromium electroplated; and
䢇 13 samples with 100 ␮m thickness of tungsten car-
bide thermal spray coated by HPrHVOF process.
The tungsten carbide thermal spray coated speci-
mens were blasted with aluminium oxide mesh 90 to
enhance adhesion. To compare experimental data, six
Fig. 2. Axial fatigue testing specimen.
115
rotating bending fatigue specimens were tested without
blasting.
2.3. Salt spray test
The performance of the coatings was evaluated with
respect to chemical corrosion in specific environment.
The samples were prepared from normalised AISI 4340
steel with 1 mm thickness, and 76 mm width and 254
mm length, surface roughness R a f 0.2 ␮m, and in the
following conditions:
䢇 accelerated hard chromium electroplated ª 16, 36
and 49 ␮m thickness;
䢇 conventional hard chromium electroplated ª 16, 36
and 49 ␮m thickness; and
䢇 tungsten carbide thermal spray coated ª 100 ␮m
thickness.
Experimental tests were conducted in accordance
with ASTM B 117, in 5 wt.% NaCl, pH of 6.5᎐7.2, at
35⬚C. The samples were supported at 20⬚ from the
vertical. The results were analysed by Image Pro Plus
software.
2.4. Abrasi¨ e wear test
The performance of the coating was also evaluated
with respect to abrasive wear. For abrasive wear tests,
samples were prepared from annealed AISI 4340 steel
with 4 mm thickness and 100 mm square, according to
FED-STD-141C. The samples were divided in three
groups; two coated with 100-␮m thickness of acceler-
ated and conventional hard chromium electroplating,
respectively, and one group coated with 100-␮m thick-
ness of tungsten carbide coating. The wear tests were
conducted with a Taber abraser, at room temperature,
using a 10-N load and CS-17 abrading wheel for hard
chromium electroplating and diamond wheel for tung-
sten carbide coating. The results were analysed by wear
index Žmgr1000 cycles. and total wear Žmgr10 000 cy-
cles. data.
116 M.P. Nascimento et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 138 (2001) 113᎐124
2.5. Tungsten carbide coating
The tungsten carbide thermal spray coating applied
by HPrHVOF system, used WC powder with 12% Co,
resulting in thickness equal to 100 ␮m. The average
superficial roughness in the reduced section of the
samples was R a f 4 ␮m and a S.D. of 0.39 ␮m, in the
as-deposited condition.
2.6. Hard chromium electroplating
The conventional hard chromium electroplating was
carried out from a chromic acid solution with 250 grl
of CrO 3 and 2.5 grl of H 2 SO4 , at 50᎐55⬚C, with a
current density from 31 to 46 Ardm2 , and a speed of
deposition equal to 25 ␮mrh. A bath with a single
catalyst based on sulfate was used.
The accelerated hard chromium electroplating was
carried out from a chromic acid solution with 250 grl
of CrO 3 and 2.7 grl of H 2 SO4 , at 55᎐60⬚C, with a
current density from 55 to 65 Ardm2 , and a speed of
deposition equal to 80 ␮mrh. A bath with a double
catalyst, one based on sulfate and the other without
fluoride, was used. After the coating deposition, the
samples were subjected to a hydrogen embrittlement
relief treatment at 190⬚C for 8 h. The average surface
roughness of the hard chromium electroplating was
R a f 3.13 ␮m in the reduced section and a S.D. of 0.79
␮m in the as-electroplated condition.
For the microcrack determination in both hard
chromium electroplating, samples were prepared from
normalised AISI 4340 steel Ž R a f 0.2 ␮m., 1 mm thick-
ness, 25 mm width and length, and with accelerated
and conventional hard chromium electroplating both
Fig. 3. S᎐N curves for rotating bending fatigue tests.
with 100 ␮m thickness, which resulted in a surface
roughness of R a f 0.74 ␮m for the former and R a f 1.6
␮m for the later, in the as-electroplated condition. The
surface microcracks were enhanced through anodic
etching for 30 s with a current density equal to 25
Ardm2 in the same chromium bath and later analysed
using an optical microscope model NikonrApophot.
All surface roughness data measured in this research
was obtained by Mitutoyo 301 equipment using a cut-off
of 0.8 mm.
The analysis of fracture surface was carried out on
rotating bending fatigue specimens by scanning elec-
tron microscope, model LEO 435 vpi and Zeiss DSM
950. The metallographic analysis was carried out on
optical microscope model Neophot 21.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Fatigue test
The S᎐N curves for the rotating bending and axial
fatigue tests for the base metal and coated specimens
are presented in Figs. 3 and 4, respectively.
Fig. 3 shows that the effect of coating in the rotating
bending fatigue test is to decrease the fatigue strength
of AISI 4340 steel. The tendency is observed for low
number of cycles Ž10 4 ., high number of cycles Ž10 5 . and
for the fatigue limit, 10 7 cycles, and is represented in
Table 1. One sees that the specimens coated with
tungsten carbide applied by the HVOF process show a
lower decrease in fatigue strength. This may be at-
tributed to the process itself. It is well known that
HVOF thermal spray process produces compressive
 M.P. Nascimento et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 138 (2001) 113᎐124 117

Fig. 4. S᎐N curves for axial fatigue tests.

residual internal stresses within the substrate, which
are formed from mechanical deformation on the sur-
face during particle impact. This is confirmed by the
through-thickness residual stress behaviour shown in
Fig. 5. These surface deformations counteract the ten-
sile shrinkage stresses of the coating caused by fast
cooling and solidification as particles strike the surface.
These tensile stresses in the coating also generate
compressive stresses within the surface of the subs-
trate. However, there was a reduction in the fatigue

Table 1
Rotating bending fatigue strength.

Rotating bending fatigue strength

Group Low cycles Ž104 . High cycles Ž105 . limit Ž107 .

Base material s 950 MPa Ž85%␴ys . ( 700 MPa Ž63%␴ys . ( 615 MPa Ž59%␴ys .
Treat. T. carb Ž100 ␮m. s 900 MPa Ž80%␴ys . ( 610 MPa Ž54%␴ys . ( 531 MPa Ž47.5%␴ys .
Tungsten carb. Ž100 ␮m. ( 900 MPa Ž80%␴ys . ( 570 MPa Ž51%␴ys . ( 531 MPa Ž47.5%␴ys .
Conv. chrome Ž160 ␮m. ( 840 MPa Ž75%␴ys . ( 500 MPa Ž45%␴ys . ( 321 MPa Ž29%␴ys .
Accel. chrome Ž100 ␮m. ( 730 MPa Ž65%␴ys . ( 340 MPa Ž30%␴ys . ( 280 MPa Ž25%␴ys .

Fig. 5. Through-thickness residual stress distribution for WC HPrHVOF thermal spray coating.
118 M.P. Nascimento et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 138 (2001) 113᎐124
Fig. 6. Microcracks surface network in conventional Ža. and acceler-
ated Žb. hard chromium electroplating. Anodic etching from 25
Ardm2 for 30 s Ž200 = ..
strength of AISI 4340, despite the compressive residual
stresses induced by the process. This can be due to the
high density of pores and oxide inclusions in the coat-
ing that commonly form during the process. Thermal
spray is generally conducted in air so chemical interac-
tions occur, notably oxidation, which can be evident in
the coating microstructure as oxide inclusions, mainly
in grain boundaries w14x. These inclusions in coating
subsurfaces are possible cracks or nucleationrinitiation
sites. From Fig. 3, it is possible to observe that the
aluminium oxide blasting is responsible for a small
improvement in the fatigue strength. Considering both
hard chromium electroplated rotating bending fatigue
results, one sees the negative influence of coating on
the fatigue strength of the steel. From the analysis of
these two coatings, it is possible to observe the better
performance of the conventional hard chromium in
relation to the accelerated hard chromium electroplat-
ing, despite the higher thickness of the former. This
may be attributed to the lower microcrack density of
the conventional hard chromium electroplating in com-
parison with the accelerated hard chromium electro-
plating as showed in Fig. 6. The microcracks density
quantitative analysis indicated median values of 1512
microcracksrcm and a S.D. of 190.6 microcracksrcm
for the accelerated hard chromium electroplating, and
223 microcracksrcm with standard deviation of 57.5
microcracksrcm for the conventional hard chromium
electroplating.
Microcracks form when the high tensile residual
internal stresses exceed the cohesive strength of the
chromium deposits and affect the fatigue behaviour of
a plated part. Therefore, microcrack density arises as a
relief of the tensile residual internal stresses, which
increase when the chromium thickness increases. Pina
et al. w7x showed that the microcrack density changes
along the thickness, being higher at the core and lower
at the surface of the coating and in the substratercoat-
ing interface due to the balance between the residual
stresses. On the surface of the coating, the microcracks
arise in a network shape, without preferential direction
and characterising an equi-biaxial residual stress state.
With respect to residual stresses, an inverse behaviour
from that observed for the microcrack occurred. There-
fore, in general, the higher the microcrack density, the
higher the tensile residual internal stresses andror
their relief. This means that the accelerated hard
chromium electroplating is responsible for higher ten-
sile residual internal stresses andror present the high-
est crack initiationrpropagation front amount. How-
ever, the different microcrack densities between both
hard chromium electroplatings practically produced the
same effect in low cycle fatigue, since crack growth
occurs after few cycles of fatigue testing. In general,
the fatigue strength for all conditions studied was re-
duced due to the high tensile residual internal stresses,
microcrack density, and high adhesion at the
coatingrsubstrate interface, which allows the crack to
grow from the coating through the interface into the
base metal.
Fig. 5 shows the residual internal stress profile for
tungsten carbide thermal spray coating. From experi-
mental points, one sees that the residual internal
stresses change throughout coating thickness, from 100
MPa tensile stress near to the surface, reaching 350
MPa maximum tensile stress at a 0.025-mm depth and
decreasing to the maximum compressive stress of 680
MPa at a 0.07-mm depth, increasing again into the base
metal, becoming tensile stress at a 0.20-mm depth. The
curve of through-thickness residual stress was plotted
based on three specimens and obtained by the modified
layer-removal method for thermal spray coating and
substrates w18,19x. The through-thickness residual
stresses change from approximately 300 MPa tensile at
0.025-mm depth to approximately 680 MPa, compres-
sive at 0.06 mm from the surface. This means that the
crack initiation may occur easily on the coating surface,
but its propagation throughout the thickness may be
delayed when the compressive residual stress site is
reached.
 M.P. Nascimento et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 138 (2001) 113᎐124 119

Table 2
Axial fatigue strength

Axial fatigue strength

Group Low cycles Ž104 .a High cycles Ž105 . Limit Ž107 .

Base material ( 1330 MPa Ž119%␴ys . ( 1125 MPa Ž101%␴ys . ( 850 MPa Ž76%␴ys .
Tungsten carb. Ž100 ␮m. ( 1350 MPa Ž121%␴ys . ( 850 MPa Ž76%␴ys . ( 750 MPa Ž67%␴ys .
Conv. chrome Ž160 ␮m. ( 1200 MPa Ž107%␴ys . ( 650 MPa Ž58%␴ys . ( 400 MPa Ž36%␴ys .
Accel. chrome Ž100 ␮m. ( 1150 MPa Ž103%␴ys . ( 650 MPa Ž58%␴ys . ( 400 MPa Ž36%␴ys .
a
ª Projection of the curves until the respective number of cycles Ž10 4 ..

For hard chromium electroplating residual stresses,
Pina et al. w7x showed that, despite the fact that micro-
cracks result in residual stress relief in the coating, the
stresses still remain high at the surface Žapprox. 800
MPa., decreasing in direction to the core Žapprox. 200
to 300 MPa., and increasing again at the interface to
values which depend on the substrate material.
Fig. 4 shows the axial fatigue testing results, indicat-
ing the decrease in fatigue strength for all specimens
coated with tungsten carbide thermal spray and hard
chromium electroplating, in comparison to the base
material. Comparing the curves, one sees the negative
influence of coatings on the fatigue strength of the
steel, with the same tendency observed previously in
the rotating bending fatigue tests. This behaviour can
also be explained by high tensile residual internal
stresses, oxide inclusions, pores and microcracks inher-
ent from each process. Table 2 indicates the axial
fatigue strength tendency of all specimens groups, based
on Fig. 4. The better performance of tungsten carbide
coated specimens in comparison to the hard chromium
plating may also be attributed to the lower tensile
residual internal stresses in the coating of the former,
compressive residual stresses on the substrate surface
and in the subsurface due to the particles impact effect,
as well as by interactions between surfacersubstrate
residual stresses. Note in the axial fatigue test that the
different microcrack density between both hard
chromium electroplatings did not play an important
role in the specimens performance, as occurred in
rotating bending fatigue tests. A comparison of Tables
1 and 2, as shown in Table 3, indicates the higher
fatigue strength shown in axial fatigue test in relation
to the rotating bending fatigue tests. In addition to the
lower specimen dimensions, this is in accordance with
the fact that the rotating bending fatigue tests are
more severe as a result of the effect of the bending
moment which increases the tensile stresses on surface
from where, in general, the fatigue cracks grow. How-
ever, Table 3 shows a higher decrease in the fatigue
strength as a function of the number of cycles in
comparison to the rotating bending fatigue test results,
for each level of stress. This may also be due to radial
throughout thickness crack propagation to the base
metal, in a direction normal to the maximum tensile
stress and resulting in lower fatigue life of the speci-
men w15x.
Fig. 7 shows a typical fracture surface from the base
metal, indicating that the fatigue crack nucleation
started at the surface. In Fig. 8, several crack fronts
that may be associated to the microcracks density origi-
nated from the plating process are represented.
From Fig. 9, which represents fracture surface from
a rotating bending fatigue specimen electroplated with
accelerated hard chromium and tested at 871 MPa, one
sees the coating homogeneity, strong adhesion subs-
tratercoating, and microcracks distributed along thick-
ness in a radial shape.
Fig. 10 shows a micrograph of a tungsten carbide
thermal spray coated specimen blasted with aluminium

Table 3
Fatigue strength in number of cycles in the rotating bending and axial fatigue tests

Fatigue testing
Stress Rotating. bending fatigue data Ž%.a Axial fatigue data Ž%.a
Base mat. W.C. C.H.C. A.H.C. Base mat. W.C. C.H.C. A.H.C.
ŽMPa. Cycles Cycles Cycles Cycles Cycles Cycles Cycles Cycles

850 22 000 12 000 Ž55. 9500 Ž43. 6000 Ž27. 107 105 Ž1. 30 000Ž0.30. 30 000Ž0.30.
750 60 000 24 000 Ž40. 18 000 Ž36. 9000 Ž18. 107 106 Ž10. 42 000Ž0.42. 42 000Ž0.42.
650 299 000 56 000 Ž19. 36 500 Ž12. 14 200 Ž5. 107 107 Ž100. 60 000Ž0.60. 60 000Ž0.60.
a
ª Values contained in parenthesis are the rate between the number of cycles of the coated material and the number of cycles of base
metal, in percentage.
120 M.P. Nascimento et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 138 (2001) 113᎐124

Fig. 7. Typical fracture surface from base metal. Rotating bending

fatigue test.

Fig. 8. Fracture surface from 100 ␮m of accelerated hard chromium

oxide. To compare, Fig. 11 indicates a coating profile
without the blasting treatment. It is possible to observe
that the aluminium oxide blasting is responsible for the
increase in roughness at the substratercoating inter-
face, with a consequent improvement in adhesion.
The important characteristics of the hard chromium
electroplating are the homogeneity of the coatings and
electroplating.
the excellent adhesion with the base metal, represented
in Fig. 12. From Figs. 10᎐12, it is also possible to
observe that, in both cases, the base metal microstruc-
ture was not affected by the deposition process.

Fig. 9. Fracture surface of samples accelerated hard chromium electroplated and tested at 871 MPa Ž500 = ..
 M.P. Nascimento et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 138 (2001) 113᎐124 121

Fig. 11. Tungsten carbide coating specimen Ž100 = ..

Fig. 10. Tungsten carbide coating aluminium blasted specimen Ž200

= .. hardness on the accelerated hard chromium electro-
plating surface and its increase through-thickness may
3.2. Abrasi¨ e wears tests explain the decrease in the wear weight loss after a
number of cycles. Theoretical calculations of the re-
The abrasive wear resistance of HPrHVOF WC spective wear depth caused by abrasive wheels after
coating and hard chromium plating was evaluated, and 10 000 cycles were 38.0 and 40.8 ␮m for the accelerated
the results in terms of wear weight loss are represented and conventional hard chromium electroplating, re-
in Table 4 and Fig. 13. Comparing the abrasive wear spectively, and 9.50 ␮m for the tungsten carbide ther-
resistance, one sees the better performance of samples mal spray coating.
coated with WC, with lower wear weight loss than the Therefore, for both hard chromium electroplatings
hard chromium electroplated specimens. This may be the wear depth values are associated to the hardness
attributed to the higher hardness and oxide content change site through-thickness. This may also be associ-
into the tungsten carbide coating. Coatings of high ated to the higher microcrack density and higher hard-
oxide content are usually harder and more wear resis- ness in the accelerated hard chromium electroplating,
tant w14x. However, initially, in the first 1000 cycles, an
almost equivalent value of wear weight loss was
observed for the tungsten carbide coating and conven-
tional hard chromium electroplating, and a higher wear
weight loss for the accelerated hard chromium. This
higher hardness of tungsten carbide coating, which
should result in lower wear weight loss in comparison
with the conventional hard chromium electroplating,
was damaged due to its higher surface roughness. With
respect to both hard chromium electroplating, in the
subsequent cycles, the wear weight loss of the acceler-
ated hard chromium electroplating decreases with the
increase in number of cycles in a parabolic way, result-
ing after 10 000 cycles in lower wear weight loss than
the conventional hard chromium plating. This may be
explained by the through-thickness hardness variation,
in accordance with Table 5, in which the microhardness
data of tungsten carbide coating and conventional hard
chromium electroplating is also indicated. The lower Fig. 12. Hard chromium electroplated specimen Ž100 = ..
122 M.P. Nascimento et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 138 (2001) 113᎐124

Table 4
Abrasive wears weight loss

Abrasive wear ŽTaber abraser .

Cycles Tungsten carbide Accelerated hard chromium Conventional hard chromium
ŽN.
Total mg mgr1000 Depth Ž␮m. Total mg mgr1000 Depth Ž␮m. Total mg mgr1000 Depth Ž␮m.

1000 2.20 2.20 1.57 8.30 8.30 11.67 2.83 2.83 3.97
2000 3.90 1.70 2.78 13.40 5.10 18.81 5.57 2.74 7.82
3000 4.70 0.80 3.56 16.50 3.10 23.16 8.33 2.76 11.70
4000 7.97 3.27 5.69 19.10 2.60 26.81 11.33 3.00 15.90
5000 10.80 2.83 7.72 21.00 1.90 29.47 14.83 3.50 20.81
6000 13.03 2.23 9.31 22.60 1.60 31.72 17.63 2.80 24.74
7000 14.20 1.17 10.15 24.10 1.50 33.82 20.60 2.97 28.91
8000 15.80 1.60 11.29 25.30 1.20 35.51 22.93 2.33 32.20
9000 17.40 1.60 12.43 26.30 1.00 36.91 25.83 2.90 36.25
10 000 18.87 1.47 13.48 27.10 0.80 38.80 29.13 3.30 40.80

Median 1.89 mgr1000 cycles 2.71 mgr1,000 cycles 2.91 mgr1000 cycles
Standard 0.75 mgr1000 cycles 2.34 mgr1000 cycles 0.88 mgr1000 cycles
deviation

and so in the higher amount of edges, resulting in
lower fracture toughness and higher brittleness. In
addition, the higher the crack density, the higher the
amount of previously detached solid particles, which
are suppressed in the microcracks and decrease the
wear strength. This may result in micro-cutting, which
is considered to be the predominant wear weight loss
mechanism w16x. Hard chromium electroplates with
hardness of approximately 750᎐800 Vickers were found
to have the best frictional wear resistance, if the hard-
ness was obtained as-deposited or by moderate heat
treatment of harder deposit w4x.
3.3. Salt spray tests
The results of the corrosion testing, performed in a
qualitative way, were obtained by visual inspection and
by image analyser software of the specimen surface
after exposure to salt spray test. Both coatings com-
pleted the tests fully corroded. Table 6, Figs. 14 and 15
show the results of the salt spray test after 24, 48 and
72 h, for all the cases.
For the HPrHVOF tungsten carbide coating, a bet-
ter corrosion resistance was observed after sealing the
application before testing. However, HPrHVOF tung-
sten carbide coating did not quite protect the substrate
against the aggressive action of salt spray environment
after 72 h in the test chamber. The HPrHVOF ther-
mal spray tungsten carbide process has a high content
of pores and oxides, which can be detrimental towards
corrosion strength w14x. In addition, it is well known
that the HPrHVOF tungsten carbide coating does not
yield consistent thickness, which also made easy the
salt spray action on sites of low thickness. On the other

Fig. 13. Abrasive wear weight loss vs. number of cycles.

 M.P. Nascimento et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 138 (2001) 113᎐124
Table 5
Through-thickness HV microhardness with 1 N load
Microhardness-HV
Coatings Surface Core
Accel. hard chromium 864 920
Conv. hard chromium 897 906
Tungsten carbide 1070 1159
hand, HPrHVOF tungsten carbide coating shows the
better performance in comparison to the hard
chromium electroplating. Bodger and co-workers w1x
observed no corrosion products in tungsten carbide
samples of 200 ␮m thickness over 30 days in salt spray
test. Higher nominal thicknesses of tungsten carbide
lead to discontinuous micropore distributions along the
thickness, which may delay the corrosive process. With
respect to both hard chromium plated samples, Fig. 14
clearly shows the higher salt spray resistance of the
accelerated hard chromium electroplated specimen
during all tests. In relation to the accelerated hard
chromium plated specimen with 49 ␮m thickness and
subjected to 48 h in salt spray environment, it can be
observed that its surface showed approximately 5%
corrosion products. On the other hand, in the same
condition, the corrosion of the conventional hard
chromium electroplated specimen was full, i.e. visually,
100% was corrosion. This experimental behaviour is
related to the number of microcracks in the deposit in
a way that the greater the microcrack density, the more
corrosion along the sample surface and, so, better
protection against corrosion w3x. In spite of the higher
microcrack density of the accelerated hard chromium
electroplating, the surface roughness measurements in-
dicates lower values than the conventional hard
chromium electroplating, as mentioned before. In gen-
eral, the corrosion resistance is related to the surface
roughness of a part; i.e. the higher surface roughness,
the higher the corrosion attack due to higher surface
area w17x. Therefore, the conventional hard chromium
electroplating process yielded lower density and, conse-
quently, deeper microcracks. It is also clear that the
increase in the thickness enhanced the hard chromium
Table 6
Results of the salt spray test in 24, 48 and 72 h
Salt spray test
Coating Tungs. carbide Accel. hard chrome
Time 100 ␮m 16 ␮m
24 h 30% 80%
48 h 50% 100%
72 h 100% 100%
123
protection to the salt spray corrosion. However, here
also, there was no protection of the substrate against
the aggressive action of salt spray environment. This
Interface corrosion is due to the high content of pores and
microcracks inherent to the process itself, that act as
913
canals, leading the corrosive process to the
912
1354 substratercoating interface, and getting intensity.
4. Conclusions
䢇 The effect of tungsten carbide thermal spray coat-
ing applied by HPrHVOF process and hard
chromium electroplating for the rotating bending
and axial fatigue tests was to decrease the fatigue
strength of AISI 4340 steel. The influence is more
significant in high cycle fatigue tests than in low
cycle fatigue tests. The decrease of the fatigue
strength was higher in chromium electroplated
specimens than in tungsten carbide coated speci-
mens.
䢇 The higher rotating bending fatigue strength of the
conventional hard chromium in comparison to the
accelerated hard chromium electroplating, despite
the higher thickness of the former, is associated
with the lower microcrack density of the conventio-
nal hard chromium electroplating.
䢇 A small increase in rotating fatigue strength was
obtained for tungsten carbide thermal spray coated
specimens blasted with aluminium oxide in compar-
ison to samples without superficial treatment.
䢇 No change in the microstructure of the base metal
due to deposition process was observed for tungsten
carbide thermal spray coating applied by
HPrHVOF process and for chromium electroplat-
ing.
䢇 For axial fatigue tests, the negative influence of
coatings on the fatigue strength of the steel fol-
lowed the same tendency observed in rotating bend-
ing fatigue tests. Analysis of the hard chromium
electroplated results revealed that the different mi-
crocracks density did not play an important role in
their performance.
Conv. hard chrome
36 ␮m 49 ␮m 16 ␮m 36 ␮m 49 ␮m
10% OK 90% 70% 50%
30% 5% 100% 100% 100%
100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
124 M.P. Nascimento et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 138 (2001) 113᎐124
Fig. 14. Salt spray test results for hard chromium electroplated
samples after 48 h.
䢇 The wear weight loss tests showed better results for
the HPrHVOF tungsten carbide coating in com-
parison to the chromium electroplating. An initially
higher wear weight loss for the accelerated hard
chromium electroplating occurred, decreasing cont-
inuously with the increase in test cycles.
䢇 Both coatings completed the test of 72 h with full
corrosion. For the HPrHVOF tungsten carbide
coating, a better corrosion resistance was observed
after sealing application before testing. With re-
Fig. 15. Salt spray test results for tungsten carbide coated samples
after 72 h.
View publication stats
spect to both hard chromium electroplated samples,
the results indicate clearly the higher salt spray
resistance of the accelerated hard chromium elec-
troplated specimens.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful for the support of this
research by CAPES, FAPESP, EMBRAER-LIEB-
HERRrEDE and CTArAMR.
References
w1x B.E. Bodger, R.T.R. McGrann, D.A. Somerville, Plating and
Surface Finishing ŽSeptember 1997. 28.
w2x J.M. Tyler, Metal Finishing ŽOctober 1995. 11.
w3x A.R. Jones, Plating and Surface Finishing ŽApril 1989. 62.
w4x G. Dubpernell, F.A. Lowenheim, Modern Electroplating Ž1968.
80.
w5x H.S. Kuo, J.K. Wu, J. Mater. Sci. 31 Ž1996. 6095.
w6x K.L. Lin, C.-J. Hsu, J.-T. Chang, J. Mater. Eng. Perform. 1
Ž1992. 359.
w7x J. Pina, A. Dias, M. François, J.L. Lebrun, Surf. Coat. Technol.
96 Ž1997. 148.
w8x S. Hotta, Y. Itou, K. Saruki, T. Arai, Surf. Coat. Technol. 73
Ž1995. 5.
w9x S. Wang, Y. Li, M. Yao, R. Wang, J. Mats. Process. Technol. 73
Ž1998. 64.
w10x Y. Matsumoto, D. Magda, D.W. Hoeppner, T.Y. Kim, J. Eng.
Ind. 113 Ž1991. 154.
w11x J.R. Hwang, C.-P. Fung, Surf. Coat. Technol. 80 Ž1996. 271.
w12x D.C. Bolles, Welding J., October Ž1995. 31
w13x W. Coulson, E.R. Leheup, M.G. Marsh, Trans. IMF 73 Ž1.
Ž1995. 7.
w14x Available from World Wide Web: http:rrmember.aol.
comrenglandgrtsc.htm
w15x H.E. Boyer, Am. Soc. Metals. Metals Park, Ohio 44073 Ž1986.
1.
w16x H. Wang, W. Xia, Y. Jin, Wear 195 Ž1996. 47.
w17x E. Budke, J. Krempel-Hesse, H. Maidhof, H. Schussler,¨ Surf.
Coat. Technol. 112 Ž1999. 108.
w18x D.J. Greving, E.F. Rybicki, J.R. Shadley, J. Thermal Spray
Technol. 3 Ž4. ŽDecember 1994. 379.
w19x L. Pejryd, J. Wigren, D.J. Greving, J.R. Shadley, E.F. Rybicki, J.
Thermal Spray Technol. 4 Ž3. Ž1995. 268.