Comparison of Ni-Based Self-Fluxing Remelted Coatings for Wear and Corrosion Applications

The present study investigates the possibility to apply a vacuum furnace thermal post-treatment as an alternative solution for flame sprayed NiCrBSi wear and corrosion-resistant coatings, deposited on a low alloyed structural steel. The controlled atmosphere offers advantages regarding the fusion of the coating, porosity reduction, and degassing. An improvement of the applied heating-cooling cycle was performed through the variation of time and temperature. The best performing samples were selected by comparing their porosity and roughness values. The chosen samples were subsequently characterized regarding their microstructure, microhardness, sliding wear, and corrosion behavior. The experimental work confirms that the use of a vacuum remelting post-process reduces the porosity below 1% and leads to the formation of a larger quantity of hard boron-containing phases, promoting a significant decrease of the wear rate, while maintaining a good corrosion behavior.