Embedding Behavior of Ceramic Particles in Babbitt Coatings and Its Effect on the Tribological Properties of Low-Pressure Cold Sprayed Coatings

The low melting point of Sn-based Babbitt alloys often causes nozzle clogging in the low-pressure cold gas-dynamic spraying (LPCGDS) process, which impacts the process steadiness and the coating quality. Adding hard particles to the feedstock material eliminates this kind of interruption. A certain amount of these particles finds their way in the obtained coatings. These particles also trigger a kind of “hammering effect” due to their impulse forces. These forces are directly dependent on the mass and velocity of the impacting hard particles. However, these forces may lead to a decrease in the porosity and improve the adhesion of the obtained coating. In this study, the effect of the density and size of the hard particle was examined by three different hard materials, Cr₃C₂, Al₂O₃, and B₄C, which have a material density of 6.68, 3.95, and 2.52 g/cm³, respectively. The used feedstock in this study is a powder mixture that contains 75 vol.% Babbitt and 25 vol.% of either B₄C, Cr₃C₂, or Al₂O₃. The effect of the size distributions “particles with lower mass” was tested using two different Al₂O₃. The various hard particles show different embedding behaviors, as well as different effects on the coating build-up. It was found that the blended hard particles were enclosed with the Babbitt matrix, and their interface with Babbitt shows no clear evidence of pronounced diffusion. The size distribution of the blended hard particles has a direct effect on the splat formation and the obtained coating microstructure. It was found that the type of hard particles played a decisive role in the friction behavior. Nevertheless, the hard particle reinforced Sn-Sb-Cu-based composite coatings demonstrated a nearly constant coefficient of friction throughout the load-interval.