Microstructure formation and corrosion behaviour in HVOF-sprayed Inconel 625 coatings

The nickel-based alloy Inconel 625 was thermally sprayed by two different variants of the high velocity oxy-fuel process. In this study, coatings deposited by a liquid-fuelled gun were compared with those produced by a gas-fuelled system; in general, the former generates higher particle velocities but lower particle temperatures. Investigations into the microstructural evolution of the coatings, using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, are presented along with results on their aqueous corrosion behaviour, obtained from salt spray and potentiodynamic tests. It is inferred from coating microstructures that, during spraying, powder particles generally comprised three separate zones as follows: fully melted regions; partially melted zones; and an unmelted core. However, the relative proportions formed in an individual powder particle depended on its size, trajectory through the gun, the gas dynamics (velocity/temperature) of the thermal spray gun and the type of gun employed. Cr2O3 was the principal oxide phase formed during spraying and the quantity appeared to be directly related to the degree to which particles were melted. The salt spray test provides a sensitive means of determining the presence of interconnected porosity in coatings and those produced with the liquid-fuelled gun exhibited reduced interconnected porosity and increased corrosion resistance compared with deposits obtained from the gas-fuelled system. In addition, potentiodynamic tests revealed that passive current densities are 10–20 times lower in liquid-fuel coatings than in those sprayed with the gas-fuelled gun.