Erosion-Corrosion Property of CeO2-Modified HVOF WC-Co Coating

Rare-earth elements have been widely used in materials manufacturing to improve hardness and toughness. In this work, conventional, nanostructured, and CeO2-modified WC-12Co powders were sprayed using high-velocity oxygen flame spraying. The erosion-corrosion behavior and interaction of erosion and corrosion of the coatings in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution were investigated. In situ observation was employed to analyze the failure mechanism. The results showed that the CeO2-modified WC-12Co coating possessed the best erosion-corrosion resistance, while the lowest corrosion resistance was exhibited by the conventional WC-12Co coating. The results also suggested that the erosion-corrosion mechanism in the three coatings was dominated by corrosion-accelerated erosion. However, the extent of acceleration of erosion by corrosion differed.