Comparative investigation of high-velocity oxy fuel and plasma coating process on mechanical and wear properties of iron alloy-based coating materials

Two distinct thermal spray deposition methods, namely high-velocity oxy fuel (HVOF) coating and plasma spray system (PSS) coating, were used to apply iron alloy-based coatings on ZE41 magnesium alloys. Mechanical and wear parameters were used to evaluate the effectiveness of both coating methods and substrate ZE41. With a porosity of 0.97%, a micro-hardness of 689.63 HV0.3, and an adhesive pull-off strength of 20.06 MPa, the results demonstrate the homogeneous and dense micro-structure of the HVOF coating. On the other side, the PSS coating has a lamellar structure with many pores and micro-cracks and has a lower micro-hardness of 526 HV0.3, a greater porosity of 1.21%, and a weaker bonding strength of 12.17 MPa. The hardness of HVOF coating and plasma coating was 740 and 541% more than hardness of substrate ZE41. The wear rate of HVOF coating was 18.4% less than the wear rate of PSS. Apart from economical aspect, HVOF provides excellent micro-structure, uniform density, better hardness, and low wear rate as compared with plasma coating.