Thermal spraying of nanocrystalline inconel 718

• Published in: Nanostructured materials Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 489 - 492
• Main Authors: Tellkamp, V.L., Lau, M.L., Fabel, A., Lavernia, E.J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Science 1997
• ISSN: 0965-9773; 1872-9150
• DOI: 10.1016/S0965-9773(97)00107-4

Nanocrystalline Inconel 718 was thermal sprayed utilizing a HVOF (High Velocity Oxygen Fuel) thermal spraying facility. First, nanocrystalline powder was produced by high energy ball milling of Inconel 718 (average particle size, 10μm) under methanol and gaseous nitrogen. The ball milled powder was then processed by HVOF to produce a coating 250 μm thick. The nanocrystalline Inconel 718 coating exhibited a significant increase in hardness (approximately 60%) over that of the Inconel 718 control sample after the thermal spray process. The grain sizes of the as-received, as-ball milled, and HVOF processed materials were 10μm, 25nm, and 32nm, respectively, as determined by X-ray diffraction. A scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of the powders and coating exhibited typical morphologies of as-received and as-ball milled materials. After HVOF spraying, some of the particles appear to have gone through the processing without complete melting.