Flexural and corrosion behaviour of WC-10Co-4Cr + Graphene sprayed on textured HSLA-steel

Abstract

ABSTRACT The aim of this work was to investigate the flexural strength and corrosion behaviour of graphene-reinforced WC-10Co-4Cr HVOF coating on sandblasted and laser-textured DH-36 naval-grade steel. In this regard, WC-10Co-4Cr and WC-10Co-4Cr + 3% graphene nanoparticles (GNPs) are applied on DH-36 substrates using the HVOF coating technique and their microhardness, flexural strength and corrosion behaviour are investigated. Amongst all, the flexural strength of WC-10Co-4Cr + 3%GNPs coating on laser-textured sample with pitch-to-diameter (p/d) ratio 2 was minimum (327.006 MPa) due to the effect of GNPs and better mechanical interlocking at the coating-substrate interface. Also, the corrosion resistance of coated DH-36 steel was evaluated by salt spray test; it revealed that corrosion resistance was improved with the application of WC-10Co-4Cr coating, which was further enhanced by the addition of GNPs as GNP has the property of being impermeable to gasses and salts. Further, microstructures and morphologies of the corroded surface were investigated using FE-SEM images.