HUANG Zhiquan, LI Changjiu, HE Dingyong, CHEN Xi, ZHAO Junjun, GAO Zhanqi, WANG Chongyang
Overlaying and thermal spraying, core technologies in modern material surface engineering, have been indispensable in industrial manufacturing and equipment restoration since the 20th century. However, accelerated industrialization has imposed increasingly stringent demands on material surface properties—such as wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and high-temperature resistance—in sectors including machinery, energy infrastructure, and aerospace, exposing the limitations of conventional overlaying and thermal spraying techniques in addressing material protection and functional enhancement under complex operational conditions. By reviewing the integration and evolution of overlaying technology within surface engineering, this article highlights key advancements and applications in both fields over the past decade while outlining their developmental trajectories. Technological advancements in materials, processes, and equipment in the field of overlaying technology have been systematically summarized using various methods. These include arc surfacing techniques, such as shielded metal arc surfacing, submerged arc surfacing, gas metal arc surfacing, self-shielded arc surfacing, tungsten inert gas surfacing, and cold metal transfer surfacing; high-energy beam surfacing approaches like plasma arc surfacing and laser cladding; and specialized surfacing technologies such as oxy-acetylene surfacing. Although traditional high-chromium iron-based wear-resistant flux-cored wires remain mature for engineering applications, recent efforts have prioritized cost-effective high-boron iron-based alternatives. Nickel-based, cobalt-based, and metal-ceramic composites continue to dominate material research, with high-entropy alloys (HEAs) emerging as focal points in laser cladding. Process studies emphasize the optimization of parameters such as current, speed, and powder / wire feeding rates, along with auxiliary techniques such as ultrasound, magnetic fields, and heat treatment, to enhance the layer microstructure and performance. Advancements in overlaying equipment have primarily focused on enhancing the efficiency, quality, and precision of the surfacing processes. Additionally, the article provides a detailed overview of the practical implementation of surfacing technology across industries such as petrochemicals, cement and mining, metallurgical and power generation, agricultural and forestry machinery, aerospace, medical devices, and nuclear energy. Current research in the field of thermal spraying focuses on technologies such as cold spraying, plasma spray-physical vapor deposition, suspension plasma spraying, and detonation spraying, each with distinct priorities. Cold spraying focuses on theoretical research, development of high-performance equipment, standardization of raw materials, and optimization of coating performance. Plasma spray physical vapor deposition concentrates on optimizing process parameters, such as powder feeding rate, plasma gas composition, and spraying distance, to regulate coating growth patterns and microstructures with the aim of achieving high-performance coatings. Suspension plasma spraying explores the fabrication of high-performance thermal barrier oxide ceramic coatings. The development of high-frequency focused-energy detonation spraying technology has resulted in an order-of-magnitude improvement in efficiency and significantly enhanced coating quality. Additionally, the applications of thermal spray coatings, including wear resistance, thermal barriers, corrosion resistance, and functional coatings, are summarized. Regarding the future development trends of overlaying and thermal spraying technologies, it points out that high-end equipment overlaying materials, composite overlaying technology, as well as the automation, intelligence, and flexibility of overlaying processes will be the future development directions for overlaying technology. For thermal spraying technology, the development of new materials, novel processes, and improvements in the coating density remain key advancement priorities. These findings provide theoretical support and directional guidance for the technological evolution and industrial applications of overlaying and thermal spraying technologies.