Characterization and Tribology Performance of Refractory Materials Coatings with Blast Furnace Slag (BFS) Fabricated by Thermal Spraying

This study aims to identify a novel area of use for metallurgical slags, which cause environmental problems. The usability of low-cost material with blast furnace slag (BFS) content in thermal spray coating technology and wear-based applications was investigated. For this purpose, the microstructural properties and wear performances of thermal spray coatings with 80Ni-20Cr content and coatings with BFS content currently used in commercially oriented applications were investigated in detail. The wear performance of the coatings was investigated under dry sliding conditions in ball-on-flat reciprocating tests using an Al₂O₃ ball as the counterpart. It was observed that the produced BFS coatings had a microstructural homogeneous structure and had porosity and oxide structure reflecting the traditional feature of the thermal spray coating process. It was determined that the hardness and surface roughness values of BFS coatings were higher than 80Ni-20Cr commercial coatings. As a result of the wear tests, it was observed that the wear performance of BFS coatings was higher than that of 80Ni-20Cr coatings and that oxidative, abrasive and adhesive wear mechanisms accompanied the wear failure formation.