Characterization and tribology performance of Fe-based metallic glassy composite coatings fabricated by gas multiple-tunnel plasma spraying

•The composite coatings were gained by gas multiple-tunnel plasma spraying.•The Fe-based metallic glassy phase was obtained in the composite coating.•The proportion of Fe-based metallic glass and ZrO2 can be regulated.•The wear resistance is improved by the addition of reinforcement.•The composite coating with 20 wt.% ZrO2 has the best wear resistance.

In the present study a novel of gas multiple-tunnel plasma spraying technology was adopted to fabricate composite coatings with various content of Fe-based metallic glass and ZrO2. By this way the glassy formation ability of the Fe-based metallic glass is not affected, and proportion of the two phases in the composite coatings can be regulated according to design. The tribological test results indicate that the addition of ZrO2 improves the wear resistance. However, the wear rate of the composite coating is nonlinear related to the fraction of ZrO2. There is a transformation from toughness to brittleness with the increase of ZrO2 in the composite coating. Therefore, the wear failure mechanism of the composite coating is changed from abrasive wear to fatigue wear.