Characterization of WC-Co composite thermal spray powders and coatings

Abstract

The article studies methods for describing powder granules and coatings in WC-Co thermal spray powder development and production. Powder particles and microstructure grains vary from a few nanometres to hundreds of micrometres. It is therefore n ecessary to combine different methods of analysis. In the granule and particle size analysis, laser diffraction, sieve analysis, image analysis and the BET method are used. Both the macrostructure and microstructure of the thermal spray coating and composite powder granules are investigated including computer analysis. As a result, a numerical database was obtained that permits to compare the characteristics of different coatings and to analyse the resistance of the coatings to the abrasive wear.