Fourteen commonly used, commercially available, WC 12Co thermal spray powde
rs were characterised in terms of their particle size distribution, surface
morphology, cross-sectional morphology, and phase composition. Based on th
e results, four powders were selected for the deposition of thermal spray c
oatings using the JP 5000 high pressure high velocity oxyfuel (HPHVOF) syst
em. Dry sand rubber wheel abrasion tests were performed on the coatings in
order to determine the effect of powder manufacturing method on the wear ra
tes. The coating produced using the cast and crushed powder did not deposit
well and wore through very rapidly. The abrasion tests on the remaining co
atings showed that the other two powder manufacturing routes are essentiall
y equivalent in terms of the resultant coating wear resistance.