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Cracking and Spalling Behavior of HVOF Thermally Sprayed WC-Co-Cr

Coating in Bend and Axial Fatigue Tests

Article  in  Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance · March 2015

DOI: 10.1007/s11665-014-1378-9

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Cracking and Spalling Behavior of HVOF
Thermally Sprayed WC-Co-Cr Coating in
Bend and Axial Fatigue Tests

M. Gui, R. Eybel, B. Asselin &

F. Monerie-Moulin

Journal of Materials Engineering and

Performance

ISSN 1059-9495

J. of Materi Eng and Perform

DOI 10.1007/s11665-014-1378-9

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Cracking and Spalling Behavior of HVOF Thermally

Sprayed WC-Co-Cr Coating in Bend and Axial
Fatigue Tests
M. Gui, R. Eybel, B. Asselin, and F. Monerie-Moulin

(Submitted July 17, 2014; in revised form October 15, 2014)

In this work, WC-10Co-4Cr coating was sprayed by high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) process on Almen
strip and axial fatigue coupon. Three-point bend test was used to bend Almen strip coating specimens with
tensile and compressive stress applied to the coating. Axial fatigue coating specimens were tested at a load
stress of 1250 MPa and a stress ratio of R = 21. Process condition of Thermal spraying was found to have
an effect on spalling performance of the coating in the fatigue test. The mechanism of cracking and spalling
process in the coating was studied in bend and fatigue conditions. Based on deformation difference between
the coating and the substrate, the factors, especially coating thickness, to impact the coating spalling
behavior in axial fatigue test are discussed. HVOF-sprayed WC-10Co-4Cr coating matches the deformation
of base substrate by cracking when tensile stress is applied in bend and fatigue tests because the coating has
very limit deformation capability. In axial fatigue test of WC-10Co-4Cr coating specimen, the substrate
works in a stress-to-strain manner; however the coating works in a strain-to-stress manner and is stressed
due to the substrate deformation.

HVOF coatings applied in landing gears and actuators are

Keywords bend test, cracking and spalling, fatigue test, HVOF
thermal spray, WC-Co-Cr coating
1. Introduction
As an alternative to electroplating hard chrome, high-velocity
oxygen fuel (HVOF) sprayed WC-Co/WC-Co-Cr coatings have
increased their applications in aircraft landing gears and actuators
(Ref 1-4). The coatings are found to have excellent wear
resistance (Ref 1, 5-10). The chromium (Cr) in the coatings is to
further improve corrosion resistance. Salt fog test has demon-
strated that HVOF-sprayed WC-10Co-4Cr coating exhibits equal
or better corrosion resistance than hard electroplating chrome for
steel substrates (Ref 1, 6, 11). Fatigue performance of HVOF-
sprayed WC-Co/WC-Co-Cr coatings deposited on parts is
critical when the parts work in reciprocation environment under
stress, such as pistons used in landing gears and actuators.
Usually, compressive residual stress exists in HVOF-sprayed
WC-Co/WC-Co-Cr coatings (Ref 12-14). This can help retard the
nucleation and propagation of crack in the coatings in fatigue
condition, hence improving fatigue property. It has been reported
that specimens with HVOF thermally sprayed WC-Co/WC-Co-
Cr coatings demonstrate comparable or better fatigue property
than electroplating hard chrome (Ref 1, 2, 11, 15-17).
M. Gui, R. Eybel, B. Asselin, Messier-Dowty Inc., 574 Monarch
Ave., Ajax, ON L1S 2G8, Canada; and F. Monerie-Moulin, Material
& Processes Laboratory, Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, 64400 Oloron
Sainte Marie, France. Contact e-mails: manchangg@hotmail.com and
max.gui@safranmbd.com.
demanded to maintain their integrity; any spallation or delam-
ination of the coatings is not allowed during their service. The
spalling performance of the coatings is usually evaluated with
coating specimens in fatigue test. The knowledge on spalling
behavior of HVOF WC-Co/WC-Co-Cr coatings in fatigue test is
still limited although some research projects in this subject have
been implemented by Hard Chrome Alternative Team (HCAT
and C-HCAT) and other researchers (Ref 17-20). It has been
found that higher load stress and bigger coating thickness tend to
the spallation of the coatings from substrate of coating specimens
before failure of the specimens in axial fatigue test. Spallation
of the coatings significantly depends on coating thickness.
C-HCATÕs works demonstrated that, for ultra-high-strength steel
substrate, 0.075-0.125-mm-thin WC-Co/WC-Co-Cr coatings
did not have any coating spallation before specimen failure in
axial fatigue test until load stress of up to 1250 MPa; for 0.250-
mm-thick coatings, however, the coatings would spall once the
load stress was just over 860 MPa (Ref 18). In addition, the
cracking, spalling, and toughness of HVOF-sprayed WC-Co
coatings were studied by four-point bend test equipped with
acoustic emission device (Ref 20-23). It is found that residual
stress in the coatings and index of crystallinity, i.e., microstruc-
ture of the coatings, also affect the cracking and spalling
behavior of the coatings.
In this paper, WC-10Co-4Cr coating was deposited on
Almen strips and axial fatigue coupons with an industrial
HVOF thermal spray facility. Conventional three-point bend
test was used to bend Almen strip coating specimens with
tensile and compressive stress applied to the coating. Axial
fatigue test coating specimens produced in different process
conditions are tested at a load stress of 1250 MPa and a stress
ratio of R = 1. Cracking and spalling behavior of the coating
under both bend and fatigue conditions was studied by

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

 Author's personal copy
examining and evaluating the specimens post testing. Espe-
cially, the mechanism of coating cracking and spalling process
in the coating is discussed.
2. Experimental Procedures
2.1 Test Coupons
Test coupons including fatigue test specimen and Almen
strip for bend test were HVOF coated. Figure 1 shows the
dimension of axial fatigue test coupon and HVOF as-sprayed
WC-Co-Cr fatigue test coating specimen used in this work. The
coupon has a straight test section with a diameter of 8.00 mm
and with tangentially blended fillet between the test section and
two ends. The coupon is made of 300 M steel (0.39-0.45C, 1.5-
1.8Si, 0.6-0.9Mn, 0.7-0.95Cr, 1.65-2.0Ni, 0.3-0.45Mo), a
typical ultra-high-strength steel. The coupon is heat-treated to
the hardness of 53-55 HRC. The 0.2% offset yield strength and
ultimate strength of the material are more than 1500 and
1900 MPa, respectively. The fatigue test coupons were shot
peened with S230 cast steel shot, and grit-blasted with 60-mesh
Al2O3 at 30 psi just before spraying.
Type N Almen strip specified in SAE J442, with the material
of SAE 1070 steel (0.72C-0.64Mn-0.19Si, 44-50 HRC hardness)
and the size of 76 9 19 9 0.8 mm (length 9 width 9 thickness),
is HVOF thermally coated for bend test. Almen strips were grit-
blasted under the same conditions used for fatigue coupon on
both sides to minimize the curvature of the strips to less than
0.05 mm arc height prior to spraying.
2.2 HVOF Facility
A Jet Kote III HVOF system from Stellite Coatings,
equipped with a Computer Integrated Thermal Spray (CITS)
control system provided by Progressive Technologies, was used
for coating spray. HVOF torch, JK3000, was manipulated by a
FANUC M-710iB robot. Hydrogen and nitrogen were used as
fuel and carrier gas, respectively.
2.3 HVOF Spraying Process
Stellite JK120H powder, agglomerated and sintered
86 wt.% WC-10 wt.% Co-4 wt.% Cr, is used in this work.
Table 1 lists the major HVOF thermal spray parameters used.
Axial fatigue test coupon was mounted in a high-rotation speed
spindle. A cooling tool was set up to cool the coupon being
coated during the spraying with compressed air at a constant
flow and pressure. The axial fatigue test coupons were sprayed
with 60 or 65 passes. In the case of 65 passes, coating
application was completed in two spraying runs: the first run
stopped at 60 passes, the flame was shut off, and then started
Fig. 1 Axial fatigue test coupon dimension and the as-sprayed coating specimen: (a) coupon dimension; (b) HVOF-sprayed WC-Co-Cr coating
specimen
again for the second run to apply 5 more passes. The purpose of
additional 5 passes spray is to get more coating on the coupon
for later grinding process. The fatigue test coupons were coated
to an approximate thickness of 0.20 mm, and ground to
0.10 mm thickness for the fatigue test.
Grit-blasted Almen strips were mounted on a drum fixture
(cylinder) by four screws at location as indicated in the
specification of SAE J442, with the convex surface of the
Almen strips in the up position. Figure 2 shows the fixture used
in this work, which is also used to hold other types of coupons
for coating microstructure, hardness evaluation, and bond
strength test. The Almen strips for bend test were sprayed with
different passes to obtain different coating thicknesses. Almen
strip coating specimens were tested with the as-sprayed coating.
2.4 Bend Testing
Bend test is usually used to evaluate the flexibility and
adhesion of coating on metallic substrates. Three-point bend test
was carried out with a flex fixture in TTD-50KNHL tensile/
compressive test machine, Adelaide Testing Machines Inc., with
controlled mandrel traverse speed, as shown in Fig. 3. Specimens
were bent to 90 around a 13-mm-diameter mandrel with the
coated surface on the outside of the bend, at an approximate rate
of 10 per second. After the test load is released, the bent
specimen retracts, so the final permanent angle of the tested
specimens is less than 90. In this test condition, the coating
receives tensile stress. In addition, Almen strip coating specimens
were also bent with the coated surface on the inside of the bend at
different mandrel traverse speeds, in which the coating receives
compressive stress. In addition, to further evaluate the adhesion
of the coating on steel substrate, bond strength test specimens
with 300 M substrate were produced. Test coupons were bars
with approximate 25 mm diameter and 51 mm length and were
HVOF coated on one end of the surface. Specimens for bond
strength measurement were prepared and tested in accordance
with ASTM C633 using FM 1000 film as an adhesive.
2.5 Fatigue Testing
Fatigue tests were performed in accordance to ASTM E466
standard in M.T.S. servo-valve hydraulic axial fatigue test machine
at room temperature, with the load stress at 1250 MPa, stress ratio
at R = 1, and the frequency at 1-5 Hz. Only the section area of
the substrate was used to calculate the test load stress. The fatigue
tests continued until the failure of the specimen. During the test,
any visible cracking and spallation would be noted.
2.6 Specimen Preparation and Evaluation
After fatigue and bend tests, tested specimens were inspected
and analyzed visually or by using microscope. Broken fatigue test
coating specimens were sectioned by diamond blade, hot mounted,
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
 Author's personal copy
Table 1 Major HVOF thermal spray parameters
Parameters Value
O2 flow rate, L/min 288
H2 flow rate, L/min 684
N2 flow rate, L/min 27
Powder flow rate, g/min 32
Spray distance, mm 152
Cooling pressure, psi 80
Fig. 2 Fixture used for coating Almen strips in HVOF thermal
spraying. From the right to left, bond strength specimens, Almen
strips, microstructure, and hardness specimens
Specimen
Mandrel
Fig. 3 Bend testing of coated Almen strip
ground, and polished by an automatic grinder and polisher.
Sectioned samples were mounted in both transversal and longi-
tudinal directions. The longitudinally mounted specimens were
ground to nominal diameter of the fatigue specimen.
Bent Almen strip coating specimens were examined for
coating cracking visually and at low magnification. Bent
specimens were also used to prepare metallurgical specimens
for coating damage and cracking evaluation.
Nikon MK II illuminator and Leica DMILM microscope
installed with Clemex image analysis system were used to
evaluate coating cracking and microstructure, to measure the
distance between cracks, coating thickness, and porosity.
Micro-hardness test of the coating was performed in LECO
M-400-G Hardness Tester at 300 g load.
3. Results
3.1 Coating Properties
Major properties of the coating were analyzed and tested.
With image analysis system under microscope, the porosity in
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
the coating is about 0.6%. The micro-hardness of the coating is
1180 HV300 at the average of 10 indentations. Coating bond
strength in the average of three specimens is greater than
76 MPa irrespective of the coating thickness since the speci-
mens in the bond strength test all failed within the adhesive.
3.2 Bend Test
In thermal spray industry, three-point bend test is a usual
acceptance test to evaluate coating adhesion, i.e., to see if the
coating would peel or flake off from the subsurface. In the
present work, Almen strip coating specimens with the as-
sprayed coating thickness of 0.08, 0.115, 0.18, and 0.275 mm
were bent tested with tensile stress applied to the coating. The
coating cracked in the bent area, but not spalled and
delaminated from the substrate or within the coating in all
cases irrespective of coating thicknesses. Visually, the coating
cracked across the whole coating area on the specimens without
branching, as shown in Fig. 4. The coating in the bent area was
segmented by the cracks. The distance between two successive
cracks is proportional to coating thickness; however, the
number of the cracks reduces with increasing coating thickness.
Figure 5 shows the relationship of the distance with coating
thickness. Figure 6 shows the longitudinal sections of bent
specimens tested in tensile stress. Apparently, the cracks started
from the coating surface, propagated transversely toward the
coating-substrate interface, and bifurcated at or just above the
interface. After transversal cracking, interfacial crack might be
created and developed along the interface. The extent of
interfacial cracking depended on the coating thickness and the
location of coating segment in the bent area, because the
specimen received a non-uniform deformation in the bent area.
Generally, interfacial cracking is not significant in thin coating.
For 0.275-mm-thick coating, the interfacial cracking almost
crossed the whole coating segments.
Almen strip coating specimens with coating thickness of
0.115 mm were also bent tested with compressive stress
applied to the coating. The specimens were broken from the
substrate of Almen strip even at very low load speeds. One of
the tested specimens is shown in Fig. 4(c). Figure 7 shows
longitudinal section of a bent specimen in the compressive bend
test. The substrate seemed to have a very limited deformation
after the test. The coating was deprived at only the contact area
with the mandrel, and no transverse cracks were observed
anywhere in the coating. A longitudinal damage layer of the
coating close to the coating-substrate interface in each side of
the broken specimen was observed under optical microscope,
as shown in Fig. 7(b).
3.3 Axial Fatigue Test
Coating fatigue specimens are tested in this work mainly to
evaluate the coating integrity, i.e., to see if the coating would
spall or delaminate from the specimens before specimen failure.
Ten coating fatigue test specimens with 0.10-mm-thick coating
after grinding at two batches were fatigue tested. For the first
batch of five coating specimens, three specimens were found to
have coating spallation during the fatigue test before specimen
failure and the other two had no coating spallation until the
failure. All three specimens with coating spallation were
sprayed with 65 passes (after 60 passes, process pause and
then additional 5 passes added), whereas the specimens sprayed
with only 60 passes had no coating spallation. Detailed
investigation was carried out on HVOF processing based on
 Author's personal copy
(a) (b) (c)

(d) (e)

2 mm

Fig. 4 Almen strip coating specimens after bend test. Tensile bend test: (a) 0.18-mm-thick coating; (b) 0.275-mm-thick coating; (d) 0.08-mm-
thick coating; and (e) 0.115-mm-thick coating; compressive bend test: (c) 0.115-mm-thick coating

1.8 process of specimens. The interruption of torch in spraying

Distance between Cracks, mm

1.6
process is suspected to be the factor to cause the coating
spallation. Therefore, another batch of five fatigue coupons was
1.4 sprayed with only 60 passes. The five coating specimens of the
1.2 second batch were tested at the same test machine and test
conditions, and the coating did not spall in each one before
1.0
specimen failure. The cycle number when the coating started
0.8 spallation and the number of cycles to failure are indicated in
Table 2 and Fig. 8. The spallation of coating seems to degrade
0.6
the fatigue property of the coating specimen.
0.4 In the fatigue test, generally the coating started spallation
0.2 from one location. With the advancement of test, the spallation
was gradually extended to other areas. Specimens after the
0.0
testing with or without coating spallation occurred before
0.080 0.115 0.180 0.275
specimen failure in the test are shown in Fig. 9(a) and (b). The
Coating Thickness, mm coating usually spalled with band strips, and a typical coating
spallation chip is shown in Fig. 9(c). Figure 10 shows the
Fig. 5 Coating thickness (mm) vs. distance (mm) between two suc- coating adjacent to spallation area in longitudinal section of a
cessive cracks. Individual measurements and connection line of the specimen after fatigue test. Under optical microscope, trans-
mean
versal cracks in the coating are readily observed, as shown in
Fig. 10(a), which are almost invisible under bare eye. It is also
computer records on process parameters, and particle temper- found that cracks farther away from coating spallation area
ature and velocity in the flame; there was no noticeable appear only in the top area of the coating, i.e., the cracks have
difference found among all five spraying runs for the coating not extended through the whole coating section. Obviously, the

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

 Author's personal copy
Test Load
(a) (b)
Substrate

Coating

400 m 100 m

(c)

400 m

Fig. 6 Longitudinal sections of bent specimens in tensile bend test: (a) 0.115-mm-thick coating at lower magnification showing transversal
cracks and secondary transversal cracks marked with circles; (b) 0.115-mm-thick coating at higher magnification showing transversal and interfa-
cial cracks; (c) 0.275-mm-thick coating

(a) (b)
Test Load

Substrate Rupture

400 m
100 m

Fig. 7 Longitudinal sections of bent specimens in compressive bend test: (a) at lower magnification; (b) at higher magnification indicating coat-
ing damage layer between two curve lines

cracks started from the coating surface and propagated 4. Discussion

transversely toward the coating-substrate interface during the
fatigue test. Longitudinal (interfacial) cracks, as shown in
Fig. 10(b), are also observed in the coating. The interfacial
cracks started at the bottom of transversal cracks and extended
toward along the coating-substrate interface or through the
coating just above the interface. Figure 11 shows the longitu-
dinal section of a fatigue test coating specimen in the coating
spallation area after testing. Some coating remnants were
observed on the substrate surface. It indicates that the interfacial
cracking, which causes coating spallation, is developed not
only from the coating-substrate interface but also within the
coating itself just above the interface.
4.1 Cracking and Spalling in Bend Test
All coatings used were produced with the same HVOF process
parameters, so coating microstructure does not need to be
considered when discussing the influence of factors on cracking
and spalling behavior in this study. In our tensile bend test, it is
found that the distance between two successive transversal cracks
in the coating increases with coating thickness. The same result
was reported in four-point bend test (Ref 20). Based on the
microscopic observation of bent specimens at longitudinal section
(Fig. 6), the coating within cracked segments does not exhibit

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

 Author's personal copy
Table 2 Fatigue test results of HVOF thermally sprayed the tensile bend test, the following equation could be used to
WC-Co-Cr coating specimens describe the coating cracking magnitude in the bent specimen:
Xn Xm
Specimens Cycles to failure Coating spallation evaluation D¼ i¼1
ðdT Þ i þ j¼1
ðdL Þj ; ðEq 1Þ

First batch where D is overall cracking space of transversal and longitu-

#1 11,657 Coating spallation starting at 5120 dinal cracks in the bent specimen; dT is the opening of single
#2 14,415 No spallation transversal crack; and dL is the opening of single longitudi-
#3 9700 Coating spallation starting at 1600 nal, i.e., interfacial crack, see Fig. 12 for the definition. At a
#4 14,782 Coating spallation starting at 4800
certain bend deformation of the substrate, it needs a certain
#5 15,081 No spallation
Second batch overall cracking space, D, to match the deformation. For a
#1 17,075 No spallation coating, if the first sum of cracking space from transversal
#2 15,311 No spallation cracks in Eq 1 is majority, the coating shall have a lower ten-
#3 13,710 No spallation dency to spall because only interfacial cracking causes the
#4 16,700 No spallation spallation of the coating. Therefore, in three-point bend test,
#5 18,882 No spallation more and finer transversal cracks formed in coating declare
the coating having a better spalling resistance.
In tensile bend test, normal tensile stress yielded in the
coating is the crack driving force for the creation of transversal
cracks. Figure 12 is a diagram showing partial bent area of a
1400
tested Almen strip coating specimen. It helps describe the
1350 process of interfacial cracking. Fload is the force applied to a
bend specimen from the mandrel in test machine; Fs is the force
1300 that the specimen receives from support rollers. Because
Load Stress, MPa

1250
1200
1150
Spallaon, first batch
1100
No spallaon, first batch
1050
No spallaon, second batch
1000
5000 10000 15000
Number of Cycles to Failure
Fig. 8 Number of cycles to failure of specimens with 0.10-mm-
thick WC-Co-Cr coating in fatigue test at a load stress of 1250 MPa
and a stress ratio of R = 1
noticeable deformation after the test. It demonstrates that the
coating only cracks, but is not bend-deformed. HVOF-sprayed
WC-10Co-4Cr coating is rigid and brittle material, and has very
limited deformation capability.
In the tensile bend test, because of no deformation occurred
in the coating, the coating matches the bend deformation of the
substrate by transversal and longitudinal cracking. At the early
stage of the test, the coating adapts the bend deformation of
substrate by means of transversal cracking, and the coating in
the bent area is segmented. Interfacial crack may create with
increasing deformation of the substrate in the later stage of the
test. The magnitude of interfacial cracking depends on the size
of coating segment, which correlates to coating thickness. In
general, bigger coating segments formed in thicker coating
demand larger interfacial cracks to match the deformation of
substrate, see Fig. 6(c). If interfacial cracks develop thoroughly
through a coating segment, the coating segment will spall from
the substrate. In the present work, more extensive interfacial
cracking is observed in thicker coating, indicating that the
thicker coating is more likely to spall. In order to support
qualitative explanation on the cracking process of the coating in
coating segments formed during the test are rigid and preserve
their integrity, it makes the force of Fs to become the crack
driving force to develop interfacial crack in the segments. The
adhesion between the coating and the substrate would be a
resistant force against the formation of interfacial crack in the
bend test. A good adhesion would retard interfacial cracking
development and increase normal tensile stress in the coating
segment. Therefore, secondary transversal crack could create
within the coating segment, as shown in Fig. 6(a). In general, a
20000 coating with strong adhesion at interface and good ductility will
have a better spalling resistance in tensile bend test.
In the compressive bend test, the rigid WC-Co-Cr coating
restrains the substrate (Almen strip) to make sufficient deforma-
tion, so that a stress concentration is formed in the local area on the
outside top surface of the Almen strip substrate. With the advance
of the test, the substrate will be cracked at the outside surface in
bent area and ruptured eventually when the stress concentration
increases beyond the strength of the substrate material.
4.2 Cracking and Spalling in Axial Fatigue Test
Generally, the spalling performance of the coatings is evaluated
with coating specimens in fatigue test. The criterion of acceptance
for the test is that the coatings shall not be spalled or delaminated
before failure of specimen in the test at a certain load stress.
The spalling behavior of HVOF WC-Co coatings has been
found to be strongly related to coating thickness; thicker coatings
exhibit a greater tendency to spall (Ref 18, 20). For this reason, the
existing application of the coatings in landing gears is only limited
to thin thickness less than 0.125 mm. It has been demonstrated that
HVOF WC-Co/WC-Co-Cr coatings with 0.10 mm thickness have
no spallation occurred before specimen failure in fatigue test (Ref
2, 16, 17). In this work, however, coating specimens sprayed in 65
passes, with 0.10 mm thickness after grinding, are found to have
coating spallation. For 65 passes, the coating spraying was run
twice; the cooling air force cools down the hot coating and
substrate after the first run, and then the coating and substrate are
re-heated in the second run (additional 5 passes). The force cool
and reheating applied on the coating and the substrate would cause

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

 Author's personal copy
(a)
(b)
Fig. 9 Fatigue test coating specimens: (a) coating did not experience spallation before specimen failure; (b) coating spalled before specimen
failure; (c) Typical coating spalling chip formed during fatigue test
(a)
Grit
(b)
100 m
Fig. 10 Cracking in the coating of fatigue-tested specimen adjacent to spallation area: (a) four successive transverse cracks in the coating; (b)
interfacial crack
stress concentration within the coating and at the coating-substrate
interface, which stimulates the spallation of the coating in the
fatigue test. For 60 passes, the coating spraying was not
interrupted. The coating has no such stress concentration and no
spallation occurred in the fatigue test. It reveals that process
condition of HVOF thermal spraying impacts the spalling behavior
of the coating. In thermal spraying, it is normal practice to spray a
part again if the coating thickness on the part is found to be not
enough or torch is interrupted because of machine malfunction.
However, this practice should be carefully controlled for the
current HVOF coating.
In axial fatigue test, transversal cracking (visible or
invisible) in the coating shall be created extensively. Based
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
(c)
Coating
spallation
Substrate Spalling area
100 m
on the observation in Fig. 10(a), the transversal cracks start at
the surface of the coating and grow toward the coating-
substrate interface. The same information has been reported by
Legg (Ref 18). As demonstrated in the compressive bend test,
the compressive stress applied in the coating does not induce
transversal cracking in the coating. Therefore, in the axial
fatigue test, the transversal cracks formed in the coating are
initiated and developed only in tensile cycles. As same as
tensile bend test, normal tensile stress applied to the coating in
tensile cycles is the crack driving force to create transversal
cracks in axial fatigue test.
As far as authorÕs knowledge, the mechanism of cracking and
spalling process of the coatings in the fatigue test has not been
 Author's personal copy
Fig. 11 Coating spallation area of fatigue test specimen at longitu-
dinal section after testing, etched with nitric acid solution. White
phase is coating
Fig. 12 Schematic showing partial bent area of bend specimen in
the tensile bend test
discussed, which will be stressed in this study. Pertaining to
HVOF-sprayed fatigue test coating specimens, as shown in
Fig. 1(b), the coating is only an attachment to the substrate. The
test machine applies the load to the substrate, and the substrate will
create strain in the test. So the substrate works in a stress-to-strain
manner, i.e., stress results in strain. The coating, however, is
stressed because the substrate deformed. The coating works in a
strain-to-stress manner, i.e., stress results from strain. The coating
obtains stress passively from the substrate and is a ‘‘passive stress
receiver.’’ Therefore, no additional external stress will exist in the
coating if the substrate has not experienced any tensile or
compressive deformation. In this study, a qualitative explanation
will be given how the coating cracks transversely and interfacially.
To simplify the analysis, assuming the test load in linear stress-
strain range, the substrate creates a tensile strain under the machine
load force in tensile cycle by HookeÕs law:
es ¼ rt =Es ; ðEq 2Þ
where es is tensile strain (mm) of the substrate, rt test load
stress (MPa) applied to the substrate, and Es is elastic modu-
lus (GPa) of the material of substrate. In tensile cycle, the
same strain is applied to the coating, inducing a stress in the
coating as follows:
rc ¼ es Ec ; ðEq 3Þ
where rc is the stress induced in the coating in tensile cycle
and Ec is elastic modulus of the material of coating. From
Eqs 2 and 3, the stress in the coating can be expressed as
rc ¼ rt ðEc =Es Þ: ðEq 4Þ
Based on the above equation, the stress in the coating is directly
proportional to the load stress and the elastic modulus of the
material of coating, but reversely to the elastic modulus of the
material of substrate. Es of 300 M substrate is 205 GPa reported
in MatWeb website; Ec of WC-Co-based coatings is about
300 GPa (Ref 23). The stress in the coating is about 50% higher
than the load stress received by the substrate from the test ma-
chine. So in tensile cycle the stress induced in coating is not
equal to the load stress applied to substrates. The stress level in
the coating depends on mechanical properties of both coating
and substrate, as well as test load stress. To help understanding
this viewpoint, one can assume that if a rubber elastic is stuck
onto a fatigue test specimen the stress in the substrate and in the
elastic is absolutely different in tensile cycle of fatigue test.
Since the WC-Co coating is a brittle material, the stress
generated in the coating in the fatigue test generally is
proportional to the substrate strain, no matter whether the test
load is in linear or non-linear stress-strain regime. At a certain
strain, the coating will crack transversely once the stress in the
coating is higher than the coating tensile strength. It may occur
at the first few tensile cycles or later depending on the load
stress applied to the specimen.
The load stress of 1250 MPa in the present fatigue test is
lower than 0.2% yield strength 1500 MPa of the substrate
material. So the elastic strain shall predominate in the fatigue
test, but a permanent deformation will be accumulated in the
substrate with the advance of fatigue test. The more the
deformation generated in the substrate, the bigger the trans-
versal cracks in the coating are developed or the more cracks
are created. The coating (brittle material) is to match the
deformation of the substrate (ductile material) through trans-
versal cracking in tensile cycles in the fatigue test.
As the same way as the tensile bend test, only interfacial
cracking causes coating spallation from the substrate in the axial
fatigue test. In the fatigue test, the coating will first crack
transversally to form coating bands in tensile cycles, and then
interfacial cracks could be created in compressive cycles. When
interfacial cracks, as shown in Fig. 10(b), expand through two
successive transversal cracks, the band of the coating will spall
from the substrate.
The schematic in Fig. 13 illustrates the deformation of the
coating and the substrate in a coating band area, i.e., the region
isolated by two successive transversal cracks, in compressive
cycle. The substrate creates a compressive deformation Ds
under the compressive stress. Because of the adhesion between
the substrate and the coasting, the substrate compressive
deformation would cause the coating to be stressed compres-
sively. Under the compressive stress, the coating will also
create a compressive deformation Dc. In the WC-Co coating/
300 M substrate system, the coating material with 300 GPa
modulus is much stiffer than the substrate with 205 GPa
modulus. In this system, Ds is greater than Dc, so there is a
relative longitudinal movement between the coating and the
substrate in compressive cycles in the fatigue test. It is the crack
driving force for the interfacial cracking in the fatigue test. The
comparative value, Ds  Dc (Ds  Dc ‡ 0), indicates the ten-
dency of coating spallation; a higher value indicates a larger
tendency of the coating to spall. The value of Ds is propor-
tionally related to test load stress. A greater compressive load
stress in the test will generate a bigger Ds, stimulating the
coating to spall. The adhesion between the coating and the
substrate is the bridge to transfer stress from the substrate to the
coating. In case there is no adhesion between the coating and
the substrate, the coating would not be stressed in the
compressive cycle. The adhesion is a resistance against
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
 Author's personal copy
Fig. 13 Schematic indicating deformation of a coating band on
substrate in compressive cycle in fatigue test
interfacial cracking in the fatigue test. Again, considering in
linear stress-strain range, based on Eq 3, the deformation Dc of
the coating in the length L is as follows:
1 1 Fc
Dc ¼ rc L ¼   L; ðEq 5Þ
Ec Ec pDs t
where rc is the stress in the coating in compressive cycle, Fc the
force applied in the coating through the adhesion, the combination
of pDst stands for coating section area, Ds the diameter of sub-
strate in the coating band area, and t the coating thickness. For the
coating produced in the same conditions and under the same test
load stress, Fc, i.e., the force transferred from the substrate to the
coating in compressive cycles shall be identical irrespective of
coating thickness. So a thicker coating, i.e., bigger t will decrease
the coating deformation Dc and therefore increases the value of Ds
Dc, resulting in a larger tendency of the coating to spall. It gives a
qualitative explanation why the coating thickness impacts the
coating spalling behavior in the axial fatigue test.
In general, any factors reducing Ds value, such as high
substrate mechanical strength and low load stress, whereas
increasing Dc value, such as good coating ductility and small
coating thickness (see Eq 5), will increase the resistance on
coating spallation. The coating in bigger section area in radius
of specimens as shown in Fig. 9(b) and (c) did not spall
because the specimens in that area receive lower load stress,
i.e., lower Ds. In addition, any factors impacting adhesion, such
as substrate surface roughness and spray processing condition,
will also influence the coating spalling behavior.
5. Conclusions
Cracking and spalling behaviors of HVOF thermally sprayed
WC-10Co-4Cr coating were studied with three-point bend and
axial fatigue tests. The following conclusions are derived.
• In three-point tensile bend test, the coating cracking and
spalling depends on coating thickness. Thick coating dem-
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
onstrates broad interfacial cracking, thereby having a lar-
ger tendency to spall.
• WC-10Co-4Cr coating is rigid and brittle material and has
very limited deformation capability. In tensile bend test,
the coating matches the bend deformation of the substrate
by transversal and interfacial cracking. Coating with den-
ser and finer transversal cracks indicates the coating hav-
ing a good spalling resistance.
• In compressive bend test, no cracks are formed in WC-
10Co-4Cr coating.
• Process condition of HVOF spraying could be a factor to
cause coating spallation in axial fatigue test. The process-
ing shall be carefully controlled avoiding any stress con-
centration in the coating and coating-substrate interface.
• In axial fatigue test, the substrate works in a stress-to-
strain manner, but the coating works in a strain-to-stress
manner and is stressed because of the substrate deforma-
tion. The stress in the coating in tensile cycles of the fati-
gue test is not the same as load stress.
• The crack driving force for the interfacial cracking in fatigue
test is from the difference of compressive deformation between
the coating and the substrate. The relative longitudinal move-
ment between the coating and the substrate in compressive cy-
cles causes the initiation and extension of interfacial cracks in
the coating, resulting in coating spallation.
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Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance