Evaluating the Effects of High Velocity Oxy-Fuel (Hvof) Process Parameters on Wear Resistance of Steel-Shaft Materials

Thermal spray processes are widely used in industries to compensate for worn surfaces of different power transmission steel shafts. These include plain carbon, alloyed and stainless steels. This comes as a means of saving the worn parts by reusing them after they have been thermally sprayed by suitable wear-resistant coatings. As there are several factors to be controlled in this process, this makes it necessary to get the best combination of process parameters to provide the required level of wear resistance and, hence part life. In this study the oxy-fuel process is applied to 4140 alloy steel. Process parameters have been varied using a 2k experimental design. The Pin-on-Disc test was used to estimate the wear resistance of the different material-coating-parameters combinations. The data were analyzed and a statistical model, explaining the effect(s) of different parameters as well as their interaction, was obtained.