Fatigue resistance and failure mechanisms of plasma-sprayed CrC–NiCr cermet coatings in rolling contact

The rolling contact fatigue (RCF) resistance and failure mechanisms of plasma-sprayed CrC–NiCr cermet coatings were experimentally investigated. Fatigue tests were conducted at two different contact stresses. At a given contact stress, thirteen rolling contact tests were performed to obtain the statistical result. The Weibull distribution plots of fatigue life data of the coatings were obtained. At higher contact stress, the bimodal distribution of the fatigue life data of the coatings was observed in the Weibull plot. The fatigue life of the coating decreased with increasing the contact stress. The failure modes of coatings could be classified into two main categories, i.e., spalling and delamination.