Tribocorrosion behaviors of thermal spraying WC/Ni60 coated 316L stainless steel in artificial seawater

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to improve the tribocorrosion properties of 316L, thus WC/Ni60 coated 316L was prepared by thermal spraying technique.

Design/methodology/approach

Composition and microstructure of WC/Ni60 coating was investigated, and tribological properties of 316 L and WC/Ni60 coating were studied under dry sliding, deionized water and artificial seawater.

Findings

The results showed that WC/Ni60 coating was lamellar structure, and the phase composition consisted of γ-Ni solid solution, carbides and borides. Furthermore, the hardness and corrosion resistance of 316 L in static seawater and wear resistance in dry sliding were improved by WC reinforced nickel-based coating. Furthermore, tribocorrosion results demonstrated that wear resistance of WC/Ni60 coating was also significantly better than 316 L, especially for higher load at artificial seawater. The reason can be attributed to the fact that the passive film of WC/Ni60 coating consisted of tungsten carbide, Ni(OH)2 and FeOOH for WC/Ni60 coating and only FeOOH for 316 L.

Originality/value

According to this study, it can be concluded that WC phases acted as a role in resisting the wear damages. Meanwhile, Ni-based materials performed well in corrosion resistance. Thus, the combined-effect Ni-based alloys and WC phases in WC/Ni60 coating showed better tribocorrosion performance than 316 L.

Citation

Liu, E., Zhang, Y., Wang, X., Zeng, Z., Du, H. and Qin, H. (2019), "Tribocorrosion behaviors of thermal spraying WC/Ni60 coated 316L stainless steel in artificial seawater", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 71 No. 6, pp. 741-748. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILT-12-2017-0386