Mater.Res.Express6(2019)1065b6 https://doi.org/10.

1088/2053-1591/ab3eef

PAPER

Wear behaviour of plasma sprayed WC−12%Cο and

RECEIVED
8July2019 Al2O3 13%TiO2 coatings on ASTM A36 steel used for I.D.
fans in −
REVISED
16August2019
ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION
28August2019 coal fired power plants
PUBLISHED
6September2019 VarunPanwar1,NeelKanthGrover2 andVikasChawla2
1
DepartmentofMechanicalEngineering, LovelyProfessionalUniversity,Phagwara,Punjab-144411,India
2
DepartmentofMechanical Engineering, IKGPTU,Kapurthala,Punjab-144603,India
E-mail:neelkanthgrover@gmail.com

Keywords:plasmaspraycoating,pin-on-disc, WC−12%Cocoating,Al2O3TiO2coating

Abstract
Erosionisamajorproblemforthepowergeneration plantsforanycountry.Averyhighcostinduced
perannumaccountingforthedowntimeofreplacement/repairofboilercomponentsofcoalfired
powerplantsduetooxidationanderosion.Thermalspraycoatingtechnique isamethodusedfor
coatingthemechanicalcomponentsinordertoenhancethesurfacepropertiesofthebasematerial
likeresistancetocorrosion, wearanderosion.Inthepresentstudy,thecermetpowdersWC-12%Co and
Al2 3O -13%TiO2 coatings(wt%age)areappliedon ASTM A36 steelsubstratewiththehelpof
plasmasprayguntechnique.TechniqueslikeXRD,SEM/EDXandEPMAanalysishavebeenusedfor
characterizationofthecoatings.ThesecoatedmaterialsweresubjectedtoaPin-on-Discweartesting.
Thecoatedsampleshaveshownalmostnegligiblewearlossascomparedtotheuncoatedsamples.
FurtherslidingwearresistanceofWC-12%Co isalmostdoubleofthatof Al2 3O -13%TiO2
coatedsamples.

1.Introduction
Inmodernindustrythermal-spray coatinghavebecomeanimportantforoffering differentcustom-made
surfaceproperties fordiversityofapplications. Thesecoatingactlikeathermalwallforhightechturbineblades
andmanyothermechanicalcomponentstocorrosionanderosionresistant[1,2].However,thereis
dramaticallyincreaseinuseofthermalspraycoatings, toenhancethelifeofmechanicalcomponentsand
preventthemfromerosionandcorrosion.Thisconcept ofapplyinganyprotectivelayerontothesubstratehas
beenusedfromtheancienttimestoprotectthematerialfromtheenvironmentandactslikeaprotectivebarrier
[3].Plasmaspraycoatingisanadaptabletechnologyandhasbeenusedbyindustriesforsolvingmanyproblems
relatedtocorrosionandwear.Itisoneofthegreatestadaptablethermalsprayingprocesseswithrespecttothe
sprayedmaterials[4].Thisprocessallowsthedepositionofcoatingmaterialtobeusedinthe
applicationsinvolving elevatedtemperatureabrasivewearalongwithcorrosionprotectionItalsoinvolvessome
extraordinarypurposesintheareasofelectricalandmedicalscience[5].Duringthisprocess,theceramics
materialundergoescertainchangesincrystallographicstructureduetofastcooling ofcoatings[6].These
changesandtransformationleadtothecreationofmetastablephaseswhichdecreasestheindentationfracture
toughnessofcoating.Eventhoughthereexistsresearchworkcarriedoutonmetallographicpreparationand
customaryassessmentofmaterialsthatcanbeusedinthermalsparycoatings,butthereareonlyafewworks
whichhavebeencarriedoutthoroughexaminationsofphysicalstructureaswellaschemistryofthesprayed
coatings[7].Protectivesurfacetreatmentsareextensivelyusedatbothlowaswellaselevatedtemperatures.High
temperatureapplications areveryrareinboilersandincaseofaerospace industries.Thereisanenormous
Mater.Res.Express6 ( 2019) 1065b6 VPanwar etal

challengetoapplythecoatingswhichcanwithstandthehightemperature applications,suchasboilertubes,
turbinebladeslikeinduceddraftfansetcThemainpurposetoapplythesecoatingsaretoprovidetheenhanced
protectivelayerofoxidesscaleformedbythermalspraycoatingwhichcanprotectthebasemetalfromcorrosive

©2019IOPPublishingLtd
andabrasivewearenvironment[8,9].Maintenancecostoferodedturbineblades,induceddraftfanbladesand
brokenpipesinsomeinstallationleadstohighcostandcanbeapproximated upto54%ofthetotalcostof
production.Onlyonepossiblewaytotacklethisproblemistoapplyathinlayerofprotectivematerialon
substratehavingantioxidation,antiwearwithgoodthermalconductive properties.Thesethinfilmlayerscanbe
iron,nickelandchromiumnickelbasedalloyedcoating[10].Higueraetal[11,12]havestudiedoxidation
behaviorofplasmaspraycoatingwithanaimtoreducethemaintenancecost,breakdownanddowntimeof
mechanicalcomponentsincoalfiredpowerplantduringthegeneration ofpower.
Different protectivecoatingsarebeingusedonalloysinpowergenerationsystemtoprotectthose
componentsfromoxidation anderosion.Plasmaspraycoatingtechnologyisrapidlyexpanding becauseinthis
processalmostanymaterialcanbeusedasaprotectivethinlayeralmostonanymaterialasasubstrate.Itisone
themostsuitablesurfacemodificationtechniquewhichcanimprovetheproperties onsurfaceofamaterialsuch
as,abrasivewearandcorrosionetcThenoveltyofthepaperistostudytheerosiveandwearbehaviourofboth
coatedanduncoatedbasematerialandithasbeennoticedthattherehasbeenappreciablesavingupto4%of
substratematerial.Inthispresentstudy,characterization ofplasmaspraycoatingofcermetlayerthickness
approximately 230 mm isdepositedonthe ASTM A36 steel.Thisefforthavebeenmadetoexaminethewear
behaviourbyusingpin-on-disctestingrig,porosity, microstructureandmicrohardnessusingXRD,SEM/
EDAXandMicrovicker testingtechniques oncoatedaswellasonuncoatedsamples.Itcanbeobserved fromthe
resultsthat WC - 12%Co coatinghasshowngoodresultsforprotectingthebasematerialfromerosivewear than Al2
3O - 13%TiO2 coating.

2.Materialandmethodology
2.1.Substratematerial
Abasematerial(alsocalledsubstrate)ASTM A36, alowcarbonsteelisutilizedasitexhibitsgoodstrength
coupledwithformability.Selectionofmaterialforthespecimenhasbeenmadeafterreviewingtheliterature.
Thelistedandactualchemicalconstituentsby%weightofbasematerialispresented intable1.Thechemical
constituentshavebeenanalyzedwiththehelpofOpticalEmissionSpectrometer (Thermo JarrelAsh,TJA181/
81,USA).

2.2.Testspecimenspecificationandpreparation
Thespecimensof ASTM A36 forweartestwerepreparedwithdimensionof 8 mm diameterand 30 mm
length.PriοrtοthedepοsitiοnοfPlasmathermalspraycοating,inordertohaveanenhancedadhesive bonding
betweencοatingandsubstratematerial,thespecimenswerecleanedprοperlyandpοlishedprοperlyusingemery
paperοfgritsize 220, 400, 600, 800 and1000 aswellaspolishingpaperswithgrades1/0 and 2 0./ Allabove
samplesweresubsequentlysubjectedtogritblastusedaluminapοwder(size:grit45).

2.3.Formulation ofcoating
Theabovesaidpreparedsampleswerecoatedusingtwotypesοfpοwdercοatings,i.e., WC - 12%Co and Al2 3O -
13%TiO2 byPlasmathermalspraycoatingprοcessafterwide-ranging literaturereview. Theliterature
reviewrevealsthattheabοvecοatingshavebrilliantbοndstrength,sliding wearanderοsiοnresistance.An 80 kW
plasmaspraygun 9 MBM apparatuswasusedtodepositcoatingswith 230 - 290 mm thickness.
Coatingdepositedon ASTM A36 substratewashardanddensewithaverage bondstrengthof 23.34 Mpa on
WC - 12%Co coatingand 29.78 Mpa on Al2 3O - 13% TiO2.Theaveragebondstrengthwastestedusing ASTM
standard C633.The WC - 12% Co powder wasresourcedfromM/s‘H.C.Stark,Germany’,underthe
productcodificationofagglomeratedsintered‘Amperit 518.088’withparticlesizes10 - 50 mm and 87% Al2 3O -

2
13% TiO2 powderproductcodeBlended‘Amperit744.001’withaparticlesize10 - 50 mm.
Parametersusedfortheplasmaspraycoatingareintable2.

2.4.Experimentalprocedures
Slidingweartestwasconductedinordertoevaluatethewearbehaviour. Pin-on-disctestingmachinewasused
toconductslidingweartest.ThetestswerperformedusingDucommakefrictionandwearmonitortesterhaving
modelno.‘TR/20/PHM/CHM/600’confirmingto ASTM G99 standards.Weartestwasperformed in
ambientroomtemperaturewith51.5%relativehumidity.Thediscwasrotatingandthespecimenwaskept
stationaryoppositetotherotatingdiscatfixedtrackdiameter.EN-31steelhaving65HRCwasusedasdisc
material.Thechemicalcomposition isgivenbelowintable3.
 Table1.Chemical constituentsof ASTM - A36(IS2062 .)
%Cr %Mo %Cu %Ni %Al %Pb %S %Ti %P %V %Mn %W %Si %Fe %C

Listed 0.084 0.018 0.048 0.039 0.007 0.039 0.019 0.007 0.026 0.003 0.46 <0.001 98.89 0.16

Mater.Res.Express6 ( 2019) 1065b6

Actual 0.01 0.002 0.01 0.01 0.01 — 0.022 — 0.019 0.001 0.92 — 98.626 0.19
3

VPanwar etal
Mater.Res.Express6 ( 2019) 1065b6 VPanwar etal

Table2.Plasmasprayingcoatingprocessparameters.
Parameters Values

Current 506Amps
Power 32.1KW
Voltage 63.7 VDC
PrimaryGas:-Nitrogen 40liter/min
Secondary Gas:-Hydrogen 7.7liter/min
Sprayingdistance 70 mm
Positionofpowderinjector,degree 90
Table3.Chemical constituents(%weight)of EN31steel.
Si Cr S C P Mn Ni

0.10 - 0.35 1.00 - 1.60 0.04 0.90 - 1.20 0.04 0.30 - 0.75 1.46

(a) WC - 12% Co, and(b) Al23O - 13% Ti O 2 coatedpreparedforslidingweartesting.

Figure1. Macrographs ofcoatedspecimens

2.5.Slidingwearstudies
Theslidingweartestwasconducted atanormalloadof 40 N, 50 N and 60 N onbaresamplesandcoated
samplesatauniformvelocitymaintainedof2 m s−1at 477  5 rpm andtotalrunof10800 m ofsliding
distance.Readingswerecollectedduringthetestofbaresampleaswellascoatedsamples.Thedataofweightloss
wasmeasured duringthetestafter 5.0, 5.0, 10.0, 10.0, 20.0, 40.0 min inordertogetlossofweight.Total
weightlosswascalculatedbysubtractingthefinalweightfromtheinitialweight.Theexamination ofcumulative
3
wearrate(inBowden)v/ssliding distanceandcumulativewearvolume(in mm )v/sslidingdistancehasbeen
discussed.Preparedspecimensaredepictedinfigure1:

3.Results
3.1.Powders
MorphologyofpowderswasdetectedwiththehelpofScanningElectronMicroscopy(SEM)alongwithEnergy
Dispersivex-rayAnalysis (EDAX)asshowninfigure2.

3.2.Morphology andMetallographic studies

ThecoatedsamplesweremorphologicallydetectedwithSEMalongsideEDAXasshowninfigure3.Optical
micrographs (X 200)ofthesurfaceofcoated ASTM A36 steelwith WC - 12% Co and
Al2 3O - 13% TiO2 coatingsareshowninfigure4.Themicrographiccharacteristicsrevealedthatthecoatings
arehomogeneous,consistent,
anddevoidofanycrackonthesurface.Itwasalsoapparentfromthemicrostructurethatcoatingshaveinclusionstos
omeextentaswellaspores.Themicro-structure canbeseentohave somegrainsofirregularshape.

5
Mater.Res.Express6 ( 2019) 1065b6 VPanwar etal

Figure2. SEM/ EDAXmorphology ( wt%age ) oftwotypesofpowders; ( a) WC - 12% C o (b) Al23O - 13% Ti O 2.

3.3.Porosity analysis
Theanalysisofporositywasconsiderableinboththestudiesi.e.,slidingwearanderosion.Thesecoatingare
quitedenseandimplicittobewearanderosiveresistance whencomparedwiththeporouscoatings. The
perceptibleporosityforcoatedsampleswasobtainedfromcapturedimageswiththehelpofaninverted
telescopewithmodelname‘ZessAxiovert 200MAT’Subsequentlycapturedimageswereprocessedusing‘Zeiss
AxiovisionRelease4.1(Germany)’animageprocessingsoftwarewhichisdeveloped asper ASTM B276
standard.Theporosityof WC - 12%Co and Al2 3O - 13% TiO2 coatingswasfoundtobe0.23%and0.82%
(reported intable4).

3.4.Coatingthickness
ThecuttingofsamplescoatedwithPlasmaspraycoatingprocesswascarriedoutusingwirecuttingEDMCNC
machineinordertohavecuttingwithprecision.Thenmirrorpolishingacrossthecutsectionwascarriedoutto
attainx-raymappingaswellasscanningelectronbackedscatteredmicrographsfor coated ASTM A36 steel
substrate.Effortsweremadetodeposit 230 - 290 mm inallthecasesof WC - 12%Co and
Ti
Al2 3O - 13% O2 powderover ASTM A36 steel.SEMbackscatteredmicrograph wasusedtomeasurethe
coatingthicknessshowninfigure5.

6
Mater.Res.Express6 ( 2019) 1065b6 VPanwar etal

3.5.Evaluationofmicro-hardness ofthecoatings
Micro-hardnesswasobtainedatvariouslocationsonthesubstrateaswellassamplescoatedwith WC - 12%Co and
Al2 3O - 13% TiO2 acrossthecross-section.figure6showsthevaluesofmicro-
hardnessacrossthecrosssectionobtained
withrespecttoitslocationfromtheinterfaceofcoatings.Thesignificantvaluesofmicrohardnessforthe ASTM A36
steelsubstratewerefoundtobevaryingfrom127Hv to 218 Hv.Fromthefigure6 itisevidentthatmicro-hardness for
WC - 12%Co coatingvariesintherangeof 997 - 1076 Hv.The Al2 3O - 13% TiO2
coatinghadshownmicrohardness intherangeof 682 - 700 Hv.

Figure3. SEM/ EDAXmorphology ( wt%age ) ofsamplescoatedwith (a) WC - 12% C o (b) A l23O - 13% Ti O 2.

Figure4. Opticalmicrograph (200X ) ofsamplescoatedwith (a) WC - 12% C o (b) Al23O - 13% Ti O 2.

7
Mater.Res.Express6 ( 2019) 1065b6 VPanwar etal

Table4.Porosity of WC - 12%Co andAl2O3-13%TiO2coatedsamples.

Typeofcoating Surfaceroughness Averagecoatingthickness Percentage ofporosity Colourofcoating
WC−12%Co 0.23 LightSilver
2.52 - 4.28 mm 259 mm
Al2O3−13%TiO2 2.94 - 3.76 mm 263 mm 0.82 Bluish

Figure5. Backscattered imageof(a) WC - 12% C o and (b) Al23O - 13% Ti O 2 coatedsamples.

Table5.Surfaceroughnessvaluesofplasma spraycoatings.
Coatingpowder Roughness(Ra)

WC - 12%Co 2.52 - 4.28 mm

Al2 3O - 13% TiO2 2.94 - 3.76 mm

3.6.Surfaceroughness(Ra)valueofthecoatings
Table5liststhevaluesofsurfaceroughness (Ra)ofsamplesof ASTM A36 steelcoatedwith WC - 12%Co and Al2
O - 13% TiO2 coatings.Thesevalueswereobtainedusing‘MitutοyοSJ-201’surfaceroughnesstester.
3

3.7.X-raydiffraction analysisofthecoatings
Figure7depictsthex-raydiffractionanalysisofplasmasprayedcoatedspecimensonsubstratematerial

8
Mater.Res.Express6 ( 2019) 1065b6 VPanwar etal

ASTM A36 steelwith WC - 12%Co and Al2 3O - 13% TiO2 coatings.Itisevidentfromthefigure7(a)for

WC - 12%Co coatedspecimens that WC, W C2 and WCo3 phasesarepresent.Figure7(b)presentsthecaseof Al2
O - 13% TiO2 coatedspecimenswhere Al O2 3, TiO2 withminorpeaksof Ti O6 11and AlO4 arepresent.
3

Figure7. X-raydiffractionpatterns ( XRD ) ofcoated ASTM A 36 steelwith (a) WC - 12% Co coatingand (b) Al23O - 13% Ti O 2
coatings.

3.8.Wearbehaviour
Weartestofsubstratematerialaswellascoatedsampleswereperformed incompliancetoASTMG99standards
withtheusageofofPin-on-discweartestingmachine.Thegivenmaterials(bareaswellascoatedsubstrate)have
beensubjectedtothreedifferenttypesofloadsandCumulativeWearRate(CWR)in Bowden hasbeen
measuredwithrespecttoslidingdistance.figure8showsthevariationofCWRof ASTM A36 steelsubstrate,
WC - 12%Co and Al2 3O - 13% TiO2 coatedsteelsubstrateswithslidingdistanceunderloadsof 40 N,
50 N and 60 N appliednormally.
Itcanbeseenwiththehelpoffiguresthatforallthethreecasesofappliedloads,substratecoatedwith WC -
Ti
12%Co hasexhibitedhighlyenhancedwearresistanceascomparedtobareand Al2 3O - 13% O2
coatedsubstrate.
Barcharts,asdepictedinfigure9,showsclearpictureofwearrateforbaresampleaswellas WC - 12%Co and Al2
O - 13% TiO2 coatedsamplesunderloadsof 40 N, 50 N and 60 N (appliednormally)afterasliding
3

9
Mater.Res.Express6 ( 2019) 1065b6 VPanwar etal

distanceof10800 matconstantvelocityof2 m s−1.Itrepresentsthatplasmacoated WC - 12%Co onbare

sampleshowsverylesswearascompared with Al2 3O - 13% TiO2 coatedandbaresample.

3.9.SEM/EDAXanalysis
SEM/EDAXanalysiswasconductedinordertounderstandthewearbehaviourandmechanism.Thewornout
surfaceofbarespecimen andhardfaced specimenswereanalysedtodetecttheelementalcomposition
(percentage)presentatthepointofconsideration.MorphologicalanalysisofthesurfacealongwithEDAX
patternsfromdifferentpointsonsurfaceofwornoutspecimens i.e.,baresampleandhardfacedsampleat
appliedloadof 40 N, 50 N and 60 N areillustratedinfigures10,11and12respectively.

10
Mater.Res.Express6 ( 2019) 1065b6 VPanwar etal

11
Mater.Res.Express6 ( 2019) 1065b6 VPanwar etal

4.Discussions
4.1.Microstructureofcoatings
The WC - 12%Co and Al2 3O - 13% TiO2 coatingshavesomepores,inclusionsaswellassomesplats.The
measuredvaluesofpercentageporosity forPlasmasprayed Al2 3O - 13% TiO2 coatingisalmostinconformity
withthatrepresentedbyLiuetal[13].Thesurfacemorphologyofplasmasprayed Al2 3O - 13% TiO2 and WC -
12%Co coated ASTM A36 steelwaspresentedby SEM micrographsalongwith EDAX analysis.Point
analysisof EDAX for WC - 12%Co coatedsampleconfirmstheoccurrenceofdesiredelementslike Co,

12
Mater.Res.Express6 ( 2019) 1065b6 VPanwar etal

W and C andonthesurfacewithsomeamount ofoxidesandslightamountof Al(aluminium), O(Oxide)and

Fe(Iron)whichcanbeneglected.Itispresumedthattheoxideformationinplasmaspraycoatingprocess canbe

13
Mater.Res.Express6 ( 2019) 1065b6 VPanwar etal

duetothedecarburizationofcarbideparticles.Theoccurrenceof O onthetopshellmightbeowingtothe
formationofoxidesanddecarburizationofcarbideparticles.Asreported byBluniandMardar[14], EDAX
pointanalysisof Al2 3O - 13% TiO2 coated ASTM A36 steelconfirmstheoccurrenceofdesiredelementslike Al,
O, C and Ti onthesurface.Inlessthan 0.01 s,theoxidationoccursmomentarilywhilethermalspraying
andcanoccurinmoltenorsolidstate.AsreportedbyHerman[15],Nerzetal[16]andKorpiolaandVuoristo

Figure10.MorphologicalanalysisofthesurfacealongwithEDAXpatternsatvariousspotsonworn-outsurfacesof ASTM A 36steel

(a) withoutcoating,(b) coatedwithWC - 12% Co, and(c) coatedwithAl23O - 13% Ti O 2 atnormalappliedloadof40 N .

[17],theformationofoxidesinsurfacecoatingsissignificantinordertorestrictandinterpretthedifferent
aspectsofoxidation ofcoatings,henceitisnotalwaysharmful,thoughitisessentialtodeduceanoptimumand
mostfavourable levelofoxidationofcoatings.Microhardneessof Al2 3O - TiO2 samplesshowthehardness
nearerto 600 HV whichwasobserved byGirisha[18].

14
Mater.Res.Express6 ( 2019) 1065b6 VPanwar etal

4.2.Measurementofporosity
Lowporosityandhighmicrohardness valuesofthesecermetcoatingsisduetothefactthatthesecoatingsretain
ahighvolumeofcarbideswhichisproperlydistributedinthematrix[19].Inthepresentstudythebestwear
resistanceisprovidedby WC - 12%Co coating.Themeasured valuesofpercentage porosityforPlasma sprayed
Al2 3O - 13% TiO2 coatingisalmostinconformity withthatreportedbyGoyaletal[20]andLiuetal
[13].

Figure11.SurfaceMorphologicalanalysisofthesurfacealongwithEDAXpatternsatvariousspotsonworn-outsurfaces of
ASTM A36steel(a) withoutcoating,
(b) coatedwith
WC - 12%Co, and(c) coatedwithAl23O - 13% TiO2 atnormalappliedload
of 50N .

15
Mater.Res.Express6 ( 2019) 1065b6 VPanwar etal

4.3.X-raydiffraction (XRD)analysis
XRD analysisrecognizedthephases WC, W C2 and Co asthemainphasesfor WC - 12%Co coated ASTM A36
steel.ThephasesrecognizedareinagreementwiththatrecordedbySinghandMishra[21],Shibe
andchawla[22],Babuetal[23],andSinghetal[24].Further, thephasesidentifiedincaseof Al2 3O - 13% TiO2
coatingwere Al2 3O withminorpeaksof TiO2 whichareinagreement withthatrecognizedbyLiuetal[13],
Fauchaisetal[25]andVenkataramanetal[26].

Figure12.MorphologicalanalysisofthesurfacealongwithEDAXpatternsatvariousspotsonworn-outsurfacesof ASTM A 36steel

(a) withoutcoating,(b) coatedwithWC - 12% Co, and(c) coatedwithAl23O - 13% Ti O 2 atnormalappliedloadof60 N .

16
Mater.Res.Express6 ( 2019) 1065b6 VPanwar etal

4.4.Wearbehaviour
Itisnoticeablefromtheresultsthat WC - 12%Co plasmasprayedcoatinghadshowntheminimum
cumulativevolumelossaswellaswearrate(approximately57timeslesserthanbarecounterpartand3.6times
lesserthan Al2 3O - 13% TiO2 coating),whichisinaccordance withthatrecordedbyShibeandChawla[27].It
hadbeennoticedthatthewearrate (W. .R )augmentswithanincrementinappliedloadwhichisinaccordance
withthatstatedbyMohantyetal[28]andQureshi andSheikh [29].Moreover,ithadbeenobservedthatthewear
rateaugmentswithanenhancement intheslidingdistanceandappliedloadwhichisalmostinagreement with
thefindingsofGlaeser[30].Asignificantaugmentationintheresistance towearisobserved forsteelsubstrate
afterdepositionofthesurfacecoatingsinthepresentinvestigation, whichisnearlyinaccordance withthe

17
Mater.Res.Express6 ( 2019) 1065b6 VPanwar etal

findingsofShibeandChawla[31],KuluandPihl[32]andSahraouietal[33].Thewearrateof WC - 12%Co
coatingwasfoundtobeleastinthepresentstudy.Therefore, fromallthecasesunder
examinationinthepresentstudy, WC - 12%Co coatingprovidessuperiorwearresistance duetothepresence
ofWonitssurfacewhichisinaccordancewiththatdescribed byShibeandChawla[31],Chivavibuletal[34]. WC-
Cocermetcoatingsimparthighwearresistanceandtheiruseassurfacecoatingshasbeenrecommended
withregardtoenhancementinthewearresistanceofalargenumber ofengineeringparts[34].

5.Conclusions

I. WC - 12%Co, and Al2 3O - 13% TiO2 coatings wereeffectively deposited on ASTM A36 steel as base
material.
II.Thecoatedsamplesshownlowerwearratethanthatofuncoatedsample.

III.Sliding wear properties have been enhanced after the deposition of WC - 12%Co, and Al2 3O - 13% TiO2
coatings.
IV.Wearrateonsampleswereincreasedwiththeincreaseinnormalappliedload.

V. WC - 12%Co plasma sprayed coating had shown the minimum cumulative volume loss as well as wear
rate(approximately57timeslesserthanbarecounterpartand3.6timeslesserthan Al2 3O - 13% TiO2 coating).
VI.Slidingwearrateforallthesamplesunderinvestigationfollowsthefollowingtrend:

WC - 12%Co coating<Al2 3O - 13% TiO2 coating<Bare ASTM A36 steel(substrate).

Therefore, outofthesecombinations, WC - 12%Co isthebestcoatingcombinationon ASTM A36 steel.

ORCIDiDs
NeelKanthGrover https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8633-6378

References
[1] BhatDG1993Areviewof:‘handbookoftribologymaterials,coatings,andsurfacetreatments’byB.BhushanandB.K.Gupta McGraw-
HillPublishingCompany 1221AvenueoftheAmericasNewYork,NY10020,USA1168pages,Hardbound,1991Mater.
Manuf.Process.8103–6
[2] WinerWOandPetersonMB1980WearControlHandbook(NewYork:AmericanSocietyofMechnaical Engineers)
[3] BudinskiKG1988SurfaceEngineering forWearResistance.(Retroactive Coverage)(NewJersey:Prentice-Hall)
[4] HermanH,BerndtCCandWangH1993PlasmasprayedceramiccoatingsCeramicFilmsandCoatingsedJBWachtmanand
RAHaber(NewJersey:NoyesPublications)
[5] PawlowskiL2008TheScienceandEngineeringof ThermalSprayCoatings (NewYork:Wiley)
[6] SinghH, GrewalMS,Sekhon HSandRaoRG2008Slidingwearperformance ofhigh-velocityoxy-fuel sprayAl2O3/TiO2andCr2O3
coatingsProc.Inst.Mech.Eng.PartJJ.Eng.Tribol. 222601–10
[7] YılmazR,KurtAO,DemirAandTatlıZ2007EffectsofTiO2onthemechanicalproperties oftheAl2O3–TiO2plasmasprayedcoating
J.Eur.Ceram.Soc.271319–23
[8] StokesJandLooneyL2008Predicting quenchingandcoolingstresseswithin HVOFdepositsJ.Therm.SprayTechnol. 17908
[9] HallingJ1985Introduction: RecentDevelopmentinSurfaceCoatingandModificationProcesses(London:MEP)
[10] BunshahRF1994Handbook ofDepositionTechnologiesForFilmsandCoatings:Science,Technology, andApplications (Norwich,NY:
NoyesPublications/WilliamAndrewPublishing)
[11] HIDALGOVH,VarelaFJBandMenendezAC1998Characterizationandhightemperature behaviourofthermalsprayedcoatings
usedinboilersProc.ofthe15thInt.ThermalSprayConf.(Nice,France)pp617–21
[12] HidalgoVH,VarelaFJB,MartinezSPandEspanaSG1999Characterizationandhightemperature behaviourofCr3C2-NiCrplasma
sprayedcoatingsProc.oftheUnitedThermalSprayConf.(Germany)pp683–6
[13] LiuY,FischerTEandDentA2003ComparisonofHVOFandplasma-sprayedalumina/titaniacoatings—microstructure, mechanical
propertiesandabrasionbehaviorSurf.Coatings Technol.16768–76
[14] BluniSTandMarderAR1996Effectsofthermalspraycoatingcompositionandmicrostructureoncoatingresponseandsubstrate
protectionathightemperaturesCorrosion52213–8
[15] HermanH1988Plasma-sprayed coatingsSci.Am.259112–7
[16] NerzJ,KushnerBandRotolicoA1992Microstructuralevaluationoftungstencarbide-cobalt coatingsJ.Therm.Spray Technol.1 147–52

18
Mater.Res.Express6 ( 2019) 1065b6 VPanwar etal

[17] KorpiolaKandVuoristoP1996EffectofHVOFgasvelocityandfueltooxygen ratioonthewearproperties oftungstencarbidecoating

ThermalSpray:PracticalSolutionsforEngineeringProblems edPCCBernt(MaterialsPark,Ohio:ASMInternational)pp177–84
[18] GirishaGK,RaoKVS,AnilKCandSanmanS2017Experimental investigationonerosivewearbehaviourofplasmaspraycoated
stainlesssteel2ndInt.Conf.onMining,MaterialandMetallurgicalEngineering (IOPConf.Series: MaterialsScienceandEngineering)
[19] SidhuHS,SidhuBSandPrakashS2006Mechanical andmicrostructuralpropertiesofHVOFsprayedWC–CoandCr3C2–NiCr
coatingsontheboilertubesteelsusingLPGasthefuelgasJ.Mater.Process.Technol.17177–82
[20] SidhuVPS,GoyalKandGoyalR2017Comparative studyofcorrosion behaviourofHVOF-coatedboilersteelinactualboiler environment
ofathermalpowerplantJ.Aust.Ceram.Soc.53925–32
[21] SinghPKandMishraSB2018ErosionwearcharacteristicsofHVOFSprayed WC-Co-CrandCoNiCrAlYcoatingsonIS-2062
structuralsteelMater.Res.Express595508
[22] ShibeVandChawlaV2016CombatingwearofASTMA36steelbysurfacemodificationusingthermallysprayedcermetcoatingsAdv.
Mater.Sci.Eng.201610
[23] SureshBabuP,RaoDS,RaoGVNandSundararajanG2007Effectoffeedstocksizeanditsdistributiononthepropertiesofdetonation
sprayedcoatingsJ.Therm. SprayTechnol.16281–90
[24] SinghA,SinghGandChawlaV2017Characterization ofvacuumplasmasprayedreinforcedhydroxyapatite coatingsonTi–6Al–4V
alloyTrans.IndianInst.Met.702609–28
[25] FauchaisPL,HeberleinJVRandBoulosMI2014ThermalSprayFundamentals: FromPowdertoPart(Newyork: SpringerUS)
[26] MishraSB,ChandraK,PrakashSandVenkataraman B2006Erosionperformanceofcoatingsproducedbyshroudedplasmaspray
processonaCo-basedsuperalloySurf.Coatings Technol.2011477–87
[27] ShibeVandChawlaV2018Erosionstudiesofcermet-coated ASTMA36steelInd.Lubr.Tribol. 71242–52
[28] MohantyM,SmithRW,DeBonteM,CelisJPandLugscheiderE1996Slidingwearbehaviorofthermallysprayed75/25Cr3C2/NiCr
wearresistantcoatingsWear198251–66
[29] QureshiFSandSheikhAK1997Aprobabilistic characterizationofadhesivewearinmetalsIEEE Trans.Reliab.4638–44
[30] GlaeserW1971FrictionandwearIEEETrans.PartsHybridsPackag.799–105
[31] ShibeVandChawlaV2018CharacterizationofFe–C–CrbasedhardfacingalloysTrans.IndianInst.Met.712211–20
[32] KuluPandPihlT2002Selectioncriteriaforwearresistantpowdercoatingsunder extremeerosivewearconditionsJ.Therm.Spray
Technol.11517–22
[33] SahraouiT,FeninecheN-E,Montavon GandCoddetC2003StructureandwearbehaviourofHVOFsprayedCr3C2–NiCrandWC–
CocoatingsMater.Des.24309–13
[34] ChivavibulP,WatanabeM,KurodaSandShinodaK2007EffectsofcarbidesizeandCocontentonthemicrostructureandmechanical
propertiesofHVOF-sprayed WC–CocoatingsSurf.CoatingsTechnol. 202509–21

19