A New Technique to Plasma Spray Composite Stainless Steel-Graphite Coating with Low Friction Coefficient on 100C6 Steel

The aim of this study is to achieve, on aluminum alloy substrates, coatings with higher hardness and better dry tribological behavior than that of the substrate. Using atmospheric plasma spraying and a vibratory fluidized bed powder feeder, coatings consisting of a stainless steel matrix with embedded graphite particles were successfully deposited. The dry coefficient of friction of the composite layer is comparable with that of a commonly used stainless steel surface. SEM examinations of polished cross-sections reveal a lamellar structure with randomly distributed graphite inclusions. Paper includes a German-language abstract.