Effect of Residual Stress on the Wear Resistance of Thermal Spray Coatings

The wear resistance of thermal spray coatings mainly depends on coating properties such as the microstructure, hardness, and porosity, as well as on the residual stress in the coating. The residual stress is induced by a variety of influences e.g., temperature gradients, difference of the thermal expansion coefficient of the coating/substrate materials, and the geometry of the components. To investigate the residual stress, the impulse excitation technique was employed to measure the Young’s and shear moduli. The residual stress was determined by the hole-drilling method and x-ray diffraction. Pin-on-Disk and Pin-on-Tube tests were used to investigate the wear behavior. After the wear tests, the wear volume was measured by means of a 3D-profilometer. The results show that the value of the residual stress can be modified by varying the coating thickness and the substrate geometry. The compressive stress in the HVOF-sprayed WC-Co coatings has a significant positive influence on the wear resistance whereas the tensile stress has a negative effect.