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Sensitivity analysis and optimisation of HVOF process inputs to reduce porosity and maximise hardness of WC-10Co-4Cr coatings

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Abstract

This paper aims at developing an empirical relation to predict the porosity and micro-hardness, by means of High Velocity Oxy Fuel (HVOF) sprayed WC-10Co-4Cr coatings. For determining the coating performance, process parameters such as flow rate of LPG fuel, flow rate of oxygen, spray distance, flow rate of carrier gas and feed rate of the coating powder play a significant role. Five-factors, five-level central composite rotatable design (CCD) was employed in this analysis to reduce the number of experiments by covering all possible combinations of the process variables. A mathematical model was established to assess the porosity and microhardness of the coatings including HVOF process parameters and the appropriateness of the model was examined using analysis of variance. Using RSM, process parameter optimizations were conducted. The coatings produced using optimized process variables had a minimum porosity level of 0.2 Vol. percentage and a maximum hardness of 1325.26 HVx compared to other coatings. This has been confirmed by the developing response graphs and also by plotting contours. The optimization of HVOF parameters using RSM, as well as the correlation of spray variables with properties of the coating, enables the recognition of the framework of the characteristics to attain the preferred consistency of WC-10Co-4Cr coatings. Analysis of Sensitivity is also performed to determine the most significant process parameter for the HVOF operation.

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Abbreviations

A:

Oxygen flow rate

B:

LPG flow rate

C:

Powder feed rate

D:

Stand-off distance

E:

Carrier gas flow rate

HVx :

Hardness value

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their deepest gratitude to the Department of Manufacturing Engineering, Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, India for providing the facilities for coating characterization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lourdes Matha College of Science and Technology, Affiliated to Kerala Technological University, Thiruvananthapuram, India

    Resmi V Prasad

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rohini College of Engineering and Technology, Affiliated to Anna University, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India

    R Rajesh

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Government College of Engineering, Bargur, Affiliated to Anna University, Bargur, Tamil Nadu, India

    D Thirumalaikumarasamy

  4. Department of Manufacturing Engineering, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India

    S Vignesh

  5. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    S Sreesabari

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  1. Resmi V Prasad
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  4. S Vignesh
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Correspondence to Resmi V Prasad.

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Prasad, R.V., Rajesh, R., Thirumalaikumarasamy, D. et al. Sensitivity analysis and optimisation of HVOF process inputs to reduce porosity and maximise hardness of WC-10Co-4Cr coatings. Sādhanā 46, 149 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12046-021-01667-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12046-021-01667-4

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