Laser and plasma transferred arc (PTA) deposition processes are highly flexible in that a wide range of metal alloys can be melted in these processes to deposit thin layers (0.5-3.0mm) over a cheaper substrate, thus making these processes attractive and economically viable for the mineral processing industry. Surface erosion by abrasive slurry motion is a common problem in mineral processing equipment. The predominant factors which contribute to the surface erosion include particle impact velocity and angle, particle properties and sizes, and properties of material surface on which erosion occurs. However, for given operating conditions and processes the rate of erosion mainly depends on surface properties of components, i.e. the substrates.
This study explores the possibility of using high power industrial laser and PTA in the deposition of overlays to produce improved erosion resistant layers over the substrates. These two processes were used to deposit cobalt and nickel base alloy layers on mild steel substrate which were subjected to laboratory scale slurry erosion test. The test results revealed that nickel based alloys performed better than cobalt base alloys. These results were also found to be comparable with that of white iron alloys.