Enhanced high-temperature wear resistance of CoNiCrAlY coatings: Strengthening mechanisms of ZrB2 and Al2O3 reinforcements at 1000 °C

doi:10.1016/j.metadv.2026.02.014

Abstract

Abstract:

the wear failure of hot parts at 1000 °C, a ZrB₂-reinforced CoNiCrAlY coating was prepared using step-fashion mechanical alloying and high-velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF) spraying. With CoNiCrAlY and CoNiCrAlY-Al₂O₃ coatings as controls, the microstructure, mechanical properties, and tribological performance at 1000 °C of the CoNiCrAlY-ZrB₂ coatings with different ZrB₂ contents (10-25 wt%) were investigated. Compared with the CoNiCrAlY coating, the incorporation of either Al₂O₃ or ZrB₂ can improve the hardness, elastic modulus, and wear resistance of the coatings. However, the pinning effect of Al₂O₃ disrupts the oxide film integrity, leading to a debris accumulation on the CoNiCrAlY-10wt%Al₂O₃ coating with a wear rate of 68.61 × 10⁻¹⁴ m³ (N m)⁻¹. In contrast, ZrB₂ promotes the formation of a protective oxide film composed of ZrO₂, (Co,Ni)Cr₂O₄, Cr₂O₃, and Al₂O₃, resulting in a lower wear rate of 8.95 × 10⁻¹⁴ m³ (N m)⁻¹ for CoNiCrAlY-10wt%ZrB₂ coating. As the ZrB₂ content increases, the mechanical properties and wear resistance further improve. The CoNiCrAlY-20wt%ZrB₂ coating exhibits minimized COF (0.40) and wear rate (2.34 × 10⁻¹⁴ m³ (N m)⁻¹), demonstrating promising potential as a protective coating of hot parts.

Key words: CoNiCrAlY-ZrB₂, Step-fashion mechanical alloying, High-velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF), Phase, Wear resistance

Zitao Jiang, Kang Yang, Shihong Zhang. Enhanced high-temperature wear resistance of CoNiCrAlY coatings: Strengthening mechanisms of ZrB₂ and Al₂O₃ reinforcements at 1000 °C[J]. Metals Advances, 2026, 43: 69-82.

Figures/Tables 21

Fig. 1. SEM images of (a) CoNiCrAlY, (b) Al2O3, (c) ZrB2 powders, (d) schematic of mechanical alloying and (e) variation in added ceramic content with milling time.

Fig. 2. SEM images of (a) CoNiCrAlY-10wt%Al2O3, (b) CoNiCrAlY-10wt%ZrB2, (c) CoNiCrAlY-15wt%ZrB2, (d) CoNiCrAlY-20wt%ZrB2, (e) CoNiCrAlY-25wt%ZrB2 powders.

Fig. 3. Particle size distribution of different powders.

Fig. 4. Cross-sectional SEM images of (a) CoNiCrAlY, (b) CoNiCrAlY-10wt%Al2O3, (c) CoNiCrAlY-10wt%ZrB2, (d) CoNiCrAlY-15wt%ZrB2, (e) CoNiCrAlY-20wt%ZrB2, (f) CoNiCrAlY-25wt%ZrB2 coatings.

Fig. 5. SEM magnified image and its corresponding EDS analysis results of (a) CoNiCrAlY, (b) CoNiCrAlY-10wt%Al2O3, (c) CoNiCrAlY-10wt%ZrB2.

Fig. 6. SEM magnified image and its corresponding EDS analysis results of (a, d, g) CoNiCrAlY-15wt%ZrB2, (b, e, h) CoNiCrAlY-20wt%ZrB2, (c, f, i) CoNiCrAlY-25wt%ZrB2.

Fig. 7. XRD patterns of (a) powders and (b) coatings with different compositions.

Fig. 8. Load vs. displacement curves obtained from nanoindentation of (a) CoNiCrAlY, (b) CoNiCrAlY-10wt%Al2O3, (c) CoNiCrAlY-10wt%ZrB2, (d) CoNiCrAlY-15wt%ZrB2, (e) CoNiCrAlY-20wt%ZrB2, (f) CoNiCrAlY-25wt%ZrB2 powders and coatings.

Table 1. Elastic recovery ratio (We/(We + Wp)), elastic modulus (H/E), plastic modulus (H3/E2), and microhardness of different coatings.

Coatings	W_e/ (W_e + W_p) (%)	H/E	H³/E² (GPa)	Microhardness (HV_0.3)
CoNiCrAlY	28.58 ± 1.83	0.044	0.013	568.16 ± 38.00
CoNiCrAlY-10wt%Al₂O₃	34.30 ± 1.76	0.056	0.035	619.21 ± 21.08
CoNiCrAlY-10wt%ZrB₂	40.90 ± 2.31	0.068	0.060	673.83 ± 36.69
CoNiCrAlY-15wt%ZrB₂	41.08 ± 4.80	0.062	0.049	704.60 ± 23.79
CoNiCrAlY-20wt%ZrB₂	47.98 ± 1.66	0.072	0.076	737.50 ± 24.74
CoNiCrAlY-25wt%ZrB₂	42.68 ± 4.15	0.064	0.051	730.28 ± 64.30

Fig. 9. Friction and wear test results of different coatings at 1000 °C (a) coefficient of friction (COF) vs. time curves and (b) 2D profile of wear scars.

Fig. 10. Wear rate and COF of different coatings.

Table 2. Coefficient of friction (COF) and wear rate of different coatings at 1000 °C.

Coatings	COF	Wear rate (×10⁻¹⁴ m³ (N m)⁻¹)
CoNiCrAlY	0.49	139.98 ± 14.31
CoNiCrAlY-10wt%Al₂O₃	0.39	68.61 ± 6.31
CoNiCrAlY-10wt%ZrB₂	0.59	8.95 ± 1.79
CoNiCrAlY-15wt%ZrB₂	0.43	3.92 ± 0.34
CoNiCrAlY-20wt%ZrB₂	0.40	2.34 ± 0.51
CoNiCrAlY-25wt%ZrB₂	0.43	10.41 ± 1.66

Fig. 11. Macroscopic and microscopic SEM images of wear scars for (a, b, c) CoNiCrAlY, (d, e, f) CoNiCrAlY-10wt%Al2O3, (g, h, i) CoNiCrAlY-10wt%ZrB2 coatings.

Table 3. EDS analysis results for the marked regions in Fig. 11.

Coatings	EDS points	Elements (at.%)
Coatings	EDS points	O	Co	Ni	Cr	Al	Si	Zr
CoNiCrAlY	A	47.80	20.50	11.84	11.07	4.65	4.14	-
CoNiCrAlY	B	55.76	2.08	1.14	2.82	38.21	-	-
CoNiCrAlY-10wt%Al₂O₃	C	56.00	11.43	10.42	9.78	7.27	5.10	-
CoNiCrAlY-10wt%Al₂O₃	D	53.13	5.29	2.92	6.59	32.10	-	-
CoNiCrAlY-10wt%ZrB₂	E	56.93	14.14	7.92	10.00	6.96	2.19	1.86

Fig. 12. Macroscopic and microscopic SEM images of wear scars for (a, b, c) CoNiCrAlY-15wt%ZrB2, (d, e, f) CoNiCrAlY-20wt%ZrB2, (g, h, i) CoNiCrAlY-25wt%ZrB2 coatings.

Table 4. EDS analysis results for the marked regions in Fig. 12.

Coatings	EDS points	Elements (at.%)
Coatings	EDS points	O	Co	Ni	Cr	Al	Si	Zr
CoNiCrAlY-15wt%ZrB₂	A	65.34	9.76	7.65	6.74	5.90	2.88	1.73
	B	57.66	13.09	10.20	8.80	6.37	1.64	2.25
	C	61.30	10.80	8.78	9.72	6.06	1.04	2.30
CoNiCrAlY-20wt%ZrB₂	D	60.81	10.64	9.30	9.23	6.03	1.05	2.94
	E	56.03	12.85	9.20	9.02	6.31	2.96	3.62
	F	64.65	11.10	11.12	5.62	5.54	-	1.97
CoNiCrAlY-25wt%ZrB₂	G	64.56	10.14	7.84	6.86	5.32	2.13	3.15
	H	62.85	10.33	8.44	7.47	4.89	1.60	4.42
	I	59.39	13.43	9.74	9.69	4.35	0.66	2.75

Fig. 13. SEM images of the unworn surfaces of (a) CoNiCrAlY, (b) CoNiCrAlY-10wt%Al2O3, (c) CoNiCrAlY-10wt%ZrB2, (d) CoNiCrAlY-15wt%ZrB2, (e) CoNiCrAlY-20wt%ZrB2, (f) CoNiCrAlY-25wt%ZrB2 coatings after friction and wear test at 1000 °C.

Table 5. EDS analysis results for the marked regions in Fig. 13.

Coatings	EDS points	Elements (at.%)
Coatings	EDS points	O	Co	Ni	Cr	Al	Zr
CoNiCrAlY	A	37.57	16.49	8.90	14.27	22.78	-
CoNiCrAlY-10wt%Al₂O₃	B	57.56	1.17	1.03	1.52	38.72	-
CoNiCrAlY-10wt%Al₂O₃	C	45.97	9.59	6.20	8.03	30.21	-
CoNiCrAlY-10wt%ZrB₂	D	33.37	12.37	7.83	25.66	20.77	-
CoNiCrAlY-10wt%ZrB₂	E	56.42	6.30	3.51	14.06	18.33	1.38
CoNiCrAlY-15wt%ZrB₂	F	39.08	16.79	12.26	7.20	24.67	-
CoNiCrAlY-15wt%ZrB₂	G	62.92	7.69	5.51	18.39	3.90	1.58
CoNiCrAlY-20wt%ZrB₂	H	65.62	10.10	9.81	10.03	2.70	1.73
CoNiCrAlY-25wt%ZrB₂	I	68.25	5.03	2.31	11.72	5.33	7.35

Fig. 14. Raman spectra of different coatings after friction and wear testing for (a) worn surface and (b) unworn surface.

Fig. 15. Schematic diagram of friction behavior for (a) CoNiCrAlY, (b) CoNiCrAlY-Al2O3, (c) CoNiCrAlY-ZrB2 (low content), (d) CoNiCrAlY-ZrB2 (high content) coatings.

Fig. 16. Comparison of wear rates between the results of this study and previously reported MCrAlY-based composite coatings at temperatures ranging from 400 to 1000 °C.

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Enhanced high-temperature wear resistance of CoNiCrAlY coatings: Strengthening mechanisms of ZrB₂ and Al₂O₃ reinforcements at 1000 °C

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