HVOF-sprayed tungsten carbide cermet coatings on metal substrates: An overview

Tungsten carbide cermet coatings, prepared by high-velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF) spraying, possesses advantages such as near-complete density, high hardness, and bonding strength. It is environmentally friendly, low in carbon emissions, suitable for remanufacturing processes, and offers benefits over electrolytic hard chrome. This paper reviews the deposition characteristics of tungsten carbide particles and the structure of coatings, as well as the latest developments in friction properties of HVOF coatings (including friction and high-temperature friction in seawater environments), cavitation erosion, and fatigue properties, existing problems, and solutions are reviewed. Although the HVOF spaying has a wide prospect in material surface protection and green low-carbon remanufacture, tracing to the source for the spraying quality is of hysteresis property. Therefore, the control from multi-aspects is needed.