Optimization of Surface Properties and Performances for HVOF Sprayed WC-Co Coatings on Mild Steel

This study presented the application of Taguchi designed experiments to optimize the tungsten carbide/cobalt (WC-Co) deposited quality properties of the high-velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF) process. The eight control factors were designed in a L18 factorial orthogonal array experiment, and the effects of control parameters on the surface properties were critically evaluated in the experiments. The surface anti-wear properties by optimal design have been studied comparatively. By optimization from Taguchi S/N ratios and analysis of variance, the surface wear volume values are decreased by 37%. It was clear that anti-wear performance estimations of HVOF sprayed WC-Co coatings are greatly improved by way of the optimal experiment, and these findings achieved the desired values in the WC-CO coatings. The experimental results indicated that the proposal method offers an effective and efficient approach for developing a robust and highly quality HVOF sprayed WC-Co coating.