Galling-resistant Co-free hardfacings for light water reactors

Galling, or adhesive wear, is a phenomenon that occurs, for example, in the mating surfaces of valves. Galling-resistant materials such as Stellites using a Co-Cr matrix with a high fraction of carbide precipitates that provide hard, non-adhesive areal coverage. Unfortuantely, the wear debris activates in the reactor core, giving rise to an…