Fatigue behavior of a structural steel coated with a WC-10Co-4Cr/Colmonoy 88 deposit by HVOF thermal spraying

► We investigated the fatigue behavior of a 4340 steel coated with a WC-10Co-4Cr/Colmonoy 88 deposit. ► The coating was deposited by HVOF thermal spray after prior grit blasting and it is very heterogeneous. ► The mechanical properties of the coating were characterized by means of nanoindentation tests. ► The coating deposited gives rise to a significant decrease in the fatigue strength of the substrate. ► The decrease in fatigue strength is due to the presence of stress concentrators at the substrate-coating interface.