Using Composite Coatings to Increase the Wear Resistance of Elements Operating under Cavitation Erosion Conditions

Abstract This paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of cavitation erosion values occurring on steel samples of grade 30Kh10G10 with dimensions of 200 × 200 × 10 mm and on samples with a composite coating. The composite coating was applied to the samples using a plasma spray method of a powder mixture consisting of two components: an iron-based self-fluxing alloy, fraction 20–63 μm (88.7%), and titanium carbide powder, fraction 43–44 μm (11.3%). The vibration frequency was 20 kHz, and the amplitude varied from peak to peak and reached 60 μm. The experiments were carried out in a 3.5% NaCl solution. The spray material, which enables the formation of the composite coating by the plasma method, was theoretically substantiated and experimentally selected by the authors of this work. It was proven that titanium carbide (TiC) particles in the composite coating function as sliding dislocations and block cracks. This effectively slows down the process of microcrack formation and growth, as well as the delamination of the coating material: the average depth erosion rate for steel samples made of 30Kh10G10 alloy and for the composite coating was 8.72 and 3.66 μm/h, respectively.