Testing Hardide CVD coating performance under high level of dynamic/cyclic deformation

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Tungsten/Tungsten Carbide (W/WC) coatings are widely employed in the design of engineering systems to withstand high static and cyclic loading conditions. Understanding the limits of the coating is necessary to help design optimal coatings which would be suitable for highly critical applications necessitating high flexural deformation and fatigue resistance. The project will focus on testing the W/WC coatings deposited through Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) under high static and cyclic loads and identifying the impact of key coating characteristics on its performance in demanding applications for the Hydrogen and power generation sectors. Instrumented four-point-bend tests will be employed to study the coating fracture mechanism, measure the fracture limits and test several approaches to optimise the coating performance under high static and dynamic loads.The project team involved in addressing this technical challenge includes Hardide plc, an SME which pioneered the CVD nanostructured W/WC coatings now used by Airbus and other blue chip industrial customers and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK's National Measurement Institute. Together Hardide and NPL will combine their expertise in coating deposition, mechanical testing, and material characterisation to study the behaviour of the coatings when subjected to high static and cyclic loading conditions.