Microstructure and tribological properties of Fe-Mo alloy-coated steel specimens prepared by low-pressure plasma spraying

Fe7Mo6-based alloy powder was low-pressure plasma sprayed on SS400 steel substrates, and the microstructure, hardness and tribological properties of the prepared substrates were investigated. Metastable BCC-coated and FeMo-coated steel specimens were obtained by low-pressure plasma spraying. The BCC-type Fe-42at% Mo alloy was stable at temperatures below 955 K. In addition, the BCC-type Fe-42at% Mo alloy coating layer exhibited micro-Vickers hardness as high as the FeMo coating layer. The metastable BCC-coated and FeMo-coated steel disk specimens exhibited friction coefficients as low as Fe7Mo6-based alloy specimens prepared by spark plasma sintering. Moreover, the specific wear rates of the FeMo/ASTM 52100 steel tribopairs were almost the same as those of the Fe7Mo6-based alloy/ASTM 52100 steel tribopairs.