Microstructure and wear behaviour of AlCoCrFeNi-coated SS316L by atmospheric plasma spray process

The capacity to endure harsh wear in demanding conditions in stainless steel drops under extreme nature and applications. Protecting the surface by providing a coating layer supports the usage in harsh conditions. In this work, SS316L is coated with AlCoCrFeNi high-entropy alloy (HEA) by atmospheric plasma spray process and annealed at 600°C for 2 hours. The AlCoCrFeNi HEA exhibited spherical particles with bcc phase and 20 µm particle size. The coating morphology revealed a uniform coating with a homogeneous distribution of HEA particles over a thickness of 150 µm. The coating post-annealing offered improved microhardness by 12% than the coated sample before annealing. The wear test was executed by varying load, sliding distance, and sliding velocity at normal temperature, 400°C and 600°C and the corresponding worn surface was analysed. The coated samples after annealing showed 57.6%, 87.5%, and 65.4% improved wear resistance at normal temperature than the coated sample before annealing at minimum levels of load, sliding velocity and distance. The wear rate of coated and annealed samples revealed 5.2%, 4.5%, and 4.4% better wear resistance at 400°C than the coated samples before annealing. The worn surface morphology showcased wear mechanisms to be delamination, abrasive wear, and oxide layer formation under all conditions.