An assessment of thermal spray coating technologies for high temperature corrosion protection

The use of thermally sprayed coatings in combating high temperature corrosion continues to grow in the major industries of chemical, waste incineration, power generation and pulp and paper. This has been driven partially by the development of corrosion resistant alloys, improved knowledge and quality in the thermal spray industry and continued innovation in thermal spray equipment. There exists today an extensive range of thermal spray process options, often with the same alloy solution. In demanding corrosion applications it is not sufficient to just specify alloy and coating method. For the production of reliable coatings the whole coating production envelope needs to be considered, including alloy selection, spray parameters, surface preparation, base metal properties, heat input etc. Combustion, arc-wire, plasma, HVOF and spray+fuse techniques are reviewed and compared in terms of their strengths and limitations to provide cost-effective solutions for high temperature corrosion protection. Arc wire spraying, HP/HVOF and spray+fuse are emerging as the most promising techniques to optimise both coating properties and economic/practical aspects. (orig.)