An Overview Of Tungsten Carbide Coatings

By Richard Patterson


Recently, the hard chromium coatings are phased out due to various performance limitations associated with them. This has been influenced by the wide application of viable high-velocity oxygen fuel tungsten carbide coatings which have gained supremacy in the engineering community, both the military and the civilian aerospace. This is because of its adhesive and cohesive abilities and forms durable coatings which are anti-wear to abrasive processes like galling and corrosion.

Several techniques which include: thermal and plasma sprays are employed to get the opted coating texture which primarily depends on the application procedures used. A further coating operation is usually used which is aimed for secondary and tertiary fusibility purposes to produce a stronger metallic luster. It thus portrays appealing results and facilitates consistency in application.

The process of application is usually initiated by a jet of combusted high-pressure fuel gas together with oxygen gas. It is then pressurized more in pressure chambers where it jets out via a small diameter-nozzle at an accelerating velocity in a long gas barrel. It is thus mixed with carbide powder at nozzle point where the two attains a supersonic speed.

Then the mixture in a high velocity is injected on the substrate surface to be applied thus losing the gained kinetic energy due to an instant halt. Therefore, the particles adopt the kinetic energy by clinging together on the metal surface resulting in a dense uniform coating with low porosity characteristics. Similarly, a high bond coating is attained due to the cohesive and adhesive properties of the powder.

To produce the specialized coating, the tungsten carbide is mixed with a binding material which results in a very hard component with a higher melting point. The coating properties such wear resistance, hardness, and strength primarily are determined by the grain size and the volume proportion of tungsten material used. Therefore, the technology of controlled grain size and volume of coating chemical used determines the specific coating properties be achieved.

Similarly, the chemical procedure employed instills a greater influence on the coating characteristics and its ability to withstand abrasive processes like erosion, corrosion and wear. Owing to the above features, the coating technique is widely applicable in industrial production. For instance, in paper production where the rolling surface is coated to attain the desired paper output regarding quality and texture specifically.

Also, the engineering technology is also applied in coal-based power generation plants. It is specifically used in the maintenance of the combustion chambers` surfaces from extremes of corrosion and wear. This is because the coatings usually have a high melting point thus reduces maintenance costs. Similarly, it is also employed in steel and ornamental production when blended with gem powder. This is because of its shiny and perfectly smooth coating it offers thus presenting the jewelry to be admirable.

The introduction of these coatings has accrued tantamount benefits in the engineering community. It has led to operational and maintenance cost reduction in the cases of entirely solid plants that involved combustion chambers in their production. Therefore, it has led to obsolesce of other coating methods like hard chromium coatings which are characterized by undesirable attributes.




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