Abstract:
Throughout the steel production process, the production hardware is exposed to a broad range of degradation mechanisms, which ultimately lead to a reduction in product quality, reduced operating efficiencies, and greater maintenance costs and downtime. Thermal spraying has been used to address such steel production challenges since the 1970s. As the thermal spray hardware and consumable technologies have matured, the number of thermal spray coating solutions has markedly increased. This two-part article series reviews the application of thermal spray coating technology in the production of steel and steel sheet products. Part 1 covers coating applications from the molten metal processing stages and continuous casting, through to the continuous annealing of rolled steel sheet. In each section, the production process is briefly reviewed to highlight the operating conditions, followed by the development and application of thermal spray coating solutions.
