MANUFACTURING AND WEAR PROPERTIES OF SIC COATING LAYER ON ZR ALLOY FABRICATED BY VACUUM KINETIC SPRAY PROCESS

초록

This study manufactured a SiC coating layer using the vacuum kinetic spray process and investigated its microstructure and wear properties. SiC powder feedstock with a angular shape and average particle size of 37.4 mu m was used to manufacture an SiC coating layer at room temperature in two different process conditions (with different degrees of vacuum). The thickness of the manufactured coating layers were approximately 82.4 mu m and 129.4 mu m, forming a very thick coating layers. The SiC coating layers consisted of alpha-SiC and beta-SiC phases, which are identical to the feedstock. Cross-sectional observation confirmed that the SiC coating layer formed a dense structure. In order to investigate the wear properties, ball crater tests were performed. The wear test results confirmed that the SiC coating layer with the best wear resistance achieved approximately 4.16 times greater wear resistance compared to the Zr alloy. This study observed the wear surface of the vacuum kinetic sprayed SiC coating layer and identified its wear mechanism. In addition, the potential applications of the SiC coating layer manufactured using the new process were also discussed.

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