Spraying of Agglomerated TiO₂ Nanopowder by Water-Stabilized Plasma

TiO₂ nanopowder was used as a feedstock for spraying with the water stabilized plasma (WSP®) in search for superior mechanical properties and wear resistance of titania coatings. It has been proved that good quality coatings can be made even with the high throughput WSP®. Single splats evaluation and the free flight particles were used for the spray optimization. Phase compositions, stoichiometry and selected properties, such as density and elastic modulus, were then studied at the as-sprayed coatings. As for the phase composition of coatings, mainly rutile with possible traces of Magneli phases have been found. A comparison between tension and compression loading shows that values of the Elastic modulus for compression are slightly higher than these for tension, as it is usual in plasma sprayed coatings.