Room and elevated temperature sliding wear behavior of cold sprayed Ni-WC composite coatings

The tribological properties of cold sprayed Ni-WC metal matrix composite (MMC) coatings were investigated under dry sliding conditions from room temperature (RT) up to 400 °C, and during thermal cycling to explore their temperature adaptive friction and wear behavior. Characterization of worn surfaces was conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Raman spectroscopy to determine the chemical and microstructural evolution during friction testing. Data provided insights into tribo-oxide formation mechanisms controlling friction and wear. It was determined that the steady-state coefficient of friction (CoF) decreased from 0.41 at RT to 0.32 at 400 °C, while the wear rate increased from 0.5 × 10−4 mm3/N·m at RT to 3.7 × 10−4 mm3/N·m at 400 °C. The friction reduction is attributed primarily to the tribochemical formation of lubricious NiO on both the wear track and transfer film adhered to the counterface. The increase in wear is due to a combination of thermal softening of the coating and a change in the wear mechanism from adhesive to more abrasive. In addition, the coating exhibited low friction behavior during thermal cycling by restoring the lubricious NiO phase inside the wear track at high temperature intervals. Therefore, cold sprayed Ni-WC coatings are potential candidates for elevated temperature and thermally self-adaptive sliding wear applications.