Cavitation Erosion Resistance of Fe-Based Amorphous/Nanocrystal Coatings Prepared by High-Velocity Arc Spraying

Two kinds of amorphous/nanocrystal coating (FeCrNiBSiNb and FeCrBSiWNb) were prepared by high-velocity arc spraying. The microhardness, bonding strength, and cavitation erosion resistance of the coatings were measured. The microstructure, amorphous content, and nanocrystal size were checked and the surface morphologies were investigated after cavitation erosion testing. The results indicated that both the FeCrNiBSiNb and FeCrBSiWNb coating consisted of amorphous/nanocrystal and Fe-based solid solution, with amorphous content of 73.6 and 57.2 vol.%, respectively. The Ni-Cr-Fe solid solution of the FeCrNiBSiNb coating had an average grain size of 19.8 nm, whereas the Fe-Cr solid solution of the FeCrBSiWNb coating had an average grain size of 29.4 nm. Moreover, both the FeCrNiBSiNb and FeCrBSiWNb coating exhibited good bonding strength, high hardness, and excellent cavitation erosion resistance. After 180 min of cavitation erosion, the cumulative weight loss of the FeCrNiBSiNb and FeCrBSiWNb coating was 21.3 and 24.0 mg, whereas the weight loss of a 0Cr18Ni9 coating was up to 62.6 mg. This investigation revealed that the cavitation damage to the thermally sprayed amorphous/nanocrystal coatings was mainly in the form of layer detachment, whereas for the conventional coating it took the form of particle breakage.