High temperature corrosion behaviour of ZrO₂ reinforced Cr₂O₃ composite coatings in molten salt environment

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the high temperature corrosion behaviour of ZrO₂-reinforced Cr₂O₃ matrix-based composite coatings on ASTM-SA213-T-22 steel at 900°C in molten salt environment. The different coatings were deposited by high velocity oxy fuel (HVOF) method.

Design/methodology/approach

Hot corrosion studies were conducted in simulated boiler environment in silicon carbide tube furnace at 900°C for 50 cycles on bare and HVOF-coated boiler steel specimens. Each cycle consisted 50 h of heating in the simulated boiler environment followed by 20 min of cooling in air. The weight change measurements were performed after each cycle to establish the kinetics of corrosion using thermogravimetric technique. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy techniques were used to analyse the corroded specimens.

Findings

The addition of 20 Wt.% ZrO₂ in Cr₂O₃ helped reduce corrosion rate by 89.25% as compared to that of uncoated specimen. The phase analysis revealed the presence of Cr₂O₃ and ZrO₂ phases in composite coating matrix, which may have prevented the base metal from interacting with the corrosive elements present in the highly aggressive environment and thus had increased the resistance to hot corrosion.

Originality/value

It should be mentioned here that high temperature corrosion behaviour of thermally sprayed ZrO₂–Cr₂O₃ composite coatings has never been studied, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is not available in the literature. Hence, present investigation can provide valuable information for application of ZrO₂-reinforced coatings in high temperature fuel combustion environments.

Citation

Goyal, K., Singh, D., Singh, H. and Singh, C. (2023), "High temperature corrosion behaviour of ZrO₂ reinforced Cr₂O₃ composite coatings in molten salt environment", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 70 No. 4, pp. 189-196. https://doi.org/10.1108/ACMM-03-2023-2780