Tribological behavior of CerMet cold spray coatings used as a replacement of hard chrome coatings

Hard chrome coatings are widely applied for anti-corrosion and anti-wear applications in automotive and aerospace industry. Unfortunately, hexavalent Cr(VI) in the electrolytic baths is toxic and carcinogenic. Therefore, it is mandatory to find alternative materials and/or deposition technique. Among the different strategies of removing hard chrome coatings, the most promising is application of CerMet coatings. The CerMet coatings appear as a perfect composite material, combining properties of ductile metal matrix and ceramic particles, which should provide a comparable result to the hard chrome coatings. The aim of this work is application of CerMet coatings as a substitution of hard chrome. In first group of samples titanium and iron-based with carbides feedstock powder were used to obtain coatings by cold spraying, while the second group was prepared from nickel-based with carbides by electroplating. Different characterization methods were applied to analyze the coatings microstructure: X-ray diffraction, SEM-EDS. Dry sliding wear behavior and friction coefficients were evaluated via ball-on-disk wear tests at room temperature. Additionally, Taber wear tests were performed in order to reveal wear mechanisms of obtained coatings.