Thermal Sprayed Wear Resistant and Lubricant Coatings

Inframat® Corporation is a pioneer in the production of nanomaterial feedstocks and nanocoatings by the industrial technique of thermal spray. There is a growing need of advanced coatings for machine parts working at various conditions in today’s industry. However, nanoparticle or superfine powders cannot be successfully thermal sprayed because of their low mass and their inability to be carried in a moving gas stream and deposited on a substrate. Realizing the potential high performance of nanostructured materials in engineered coating applications, Inframat has developed a patented process for the thermal spray of nanostructured or superfine feeds, by which the nanoparticle powders can be reconstituted into spherical micron-sized granules, that can be thermally sprayed. Thermal spray operations were performed using commercial-off-the-shelf thermal spray systems. These coatings showed significant improvements in mechanical properties, including bond strength, toughness, strain tolerance, and wear resistance. Inframat’s nanocoating powder feedstocks include alumina/titania (Al₂O₃/TiO₂), tungsten carbide/cobalt (WC/Co), chromia/titania Cr₂O₃/TiO₂), and yttria-stabilized-zirconia (YSZ).

Inframat’s rapid growth in the development and commercialization of nanocoating feedstock products is attributable to a mix of funding sources, including government R&D contracts, joint development projects with strategic partners, and international joint ventures. Inframat collaborated with the Univ. of Connecticut on an ONR sponsored ($3.5 MM) 5-year program for Navy Shipyard’s repair applications. Inframat was awarded a DoD Dual Use Science and Technology (“DUST”) program, ($400,000) to commercialize thermally sprayed Al₂O₃/TiO₂ nanocoatings for Navy and civilian applications. Inframat was also the PI, in collaboration with Rurgers Univ., for a $2.3 MM 2-years DoD DUST program for thermal spraying WC/Co nanocoatings for both Navy and Civilian applications. The key findings of these nanocoating programs are that the nanostructured ceramic materials possess superior fracture toughness and fatigue life, increased wear resistance, and increased coating to substrate bond strength. The Navy has approved IMC’s plasma sprayed ceramic nanocoating for certification under MIL-STD-1687A, entitled “Thermal Spray Processes for Naval Ship Machinery Applications.” IMC’s Al₂O₃/TiO₂ nanocoatings were recognized by R&D magazine with an R&D100 award in 2001. It also won the Navy’s 2001 annual “DUST” Program award. A Sino-US Cooperative Joint Venture between Inframat and Shanghai Dahao Enterprise Investment Co. was established in Shanghai in 2001.

	Thermal spray in action
Hydraulic rod with thermal sprayed alumina/titania nanocoating

For more information about alumina/titania nanocoatings, click here
For more information about tungsten carbide cobalt nanocoatings, click here