Accelerated metal spray rates on pump plungers by vertical spray with induction fusion

Flame powder thermal spray welding has been widely used to apply wear and corrosion resistant coatings on the reciprocating pump plungers in the oil lifting industry. The metal powder is often sprayed on the metal tubing in the horizontal direction that requires a lot of equipment space which limits the maximum length to be sprayed. In this work, we introduced a vertical spray method with induction fusion for pump plungers to spray a Ni-Cr-Si-B based powder. Optical microscope, scanning electron microscope with energy-dispersive X-ray, and microhardness testing are used to compare the bond and coating quality. The new method increases the production rate dramatically compared with traditional horizontal spray with propane torch fusion.