LAUSR

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the high temperature corrosion behaviour of ZrO2-reinforced Cr2O3 matrix-based composite coatings on ASTM-SA213-T-22 steel at 900°C in molten salt environment. The different coatings were deposited by high velocity oxy fuel (HVOF) method. Design/methodology/approach Hot corrosion studies were conducted in simulated boiler environment in silicon carbide tube furnace at 900°C for 50 cycles on bare and HVOF-coated boiler steel specimens. Each cycle consisted 50 h of heating in the simulated boiler environment followed by 20 min of cooling in air. The weight change measurements were performed after each cycle to establish the kinetics of corrosion using thermogravimetric technique. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy techniques were used to analyse the corroded specimens. Findings The addition of 20 Wt.% ZrO2 in Cr2O3 helped reduce corrosion rate by 89.25% as compared to that of uncoated specimen. The phase analysis revealed the presence of Cr2O3 and ZrO2 phases in composite coating matrix, which may have prevented the base metal from interacting with the corrosive elements present in the highly aggressive environment and thus had increased the resistance to hot corrosion. Originality/value It should be mentioned here that high temperature corrosion behaviour of thermally sprayed ZrO2–Cr2O3 composite coatings has never been studied, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is not available in the literature. Hence, present investigation can provide valuable information for application of ZrO2-reinforced coatings in high temperature fuel combustion environments.