Abstract
Polymeric coatings manufactured by thermal spray processes exhibit variable mechanical and adhesion properties that depend on their exact processing schedules. One important advantage of these coatings is that they can be readily repaired by re-spraying any delaminated or otherwise defective regions. In some instances the repaired region exhibits better mechanical attributes than the original coating. In this study the repairability of several classes of polymeric and polymer-ceramic composite coatings were investigated with a focus on the interfacial adhesion properties. The coatings include those of monolayer and bilayer ethylene methacrylic acid (EMAA), and CaCO3-EMAA composites. The coating thickness did not influence the interfacial adhesive strength between the coating and substrate; while a higher preheat temperature produced a greater interfacial cohesion for the monolayer coating on a metal substrate. The substrate preheat temperature played a dominant role concerning the peel strength of the coating. Greater peel strengths were achieved between polymers, at least twofold greater than that between the polymer and the steel substrate when the pre-heat temperature was greater than the melting point of the polymer. The peel strength of the composite coating decreased with filler content; both on the steel substrate and on a previously sprayed polymer coating. On the basis of these observations, the adhesion mechanism between polymers was explained with a model that relied on the formation of welding points.
