Investigations of microstructure and selected mechanical properties of Al2O3 + 40 wt.% TiO2 coatings deposited by Atmospheric Plasma Spraying (APS)

Abstract

Atmospheric Plasma Spraying (APS) enables deposition of coatings from different materials, including those based on Al2O3 and TiO2. In this work, Al2O3 + 40 wt.% TiO2 coatings were tested. The relationships between mechanical properties, microstructure and spraying parameters (namely: spraying distance and torch scan velocity) were investigated. Commercial -45 + 5 μm powders in agglomerated as- produced state were sprayed onto the stainless steel 1.4301 substrates. The aim of the study was to determine the adhesion, microhardness and roughness of coatings but also to characterize their microstructure. It was observed that coatings sprayed from shorter distance were well melted and revealed good adhesion, but at the same time they were more porous and of lower microhardness than those deposited from the longer spraying distance.

Keywords

• plasma spraying
• coating
• microstructure
• porosity
• roughness
• adhesion