Residual Stress Measurements in Wire-Arc Sprayed ZnAl15 Coatings

In recent studies, crack formation was observed in oxidized areas of wire-arc sprayed Zn-Al coatings. As corrosion tests show, these cracks allow electrolyte to penetrate the coating, reducing effective service lifetime. Wire-arc sprayed coatings usually exhibit tensile residual stresses with the potential to cause such cracking. To determine the extent of that potential, the stress state of Zn-Al coatings was measured and correlated with corrosion test results. Residual stress was obtained using the sin2ψ method based on XRD analysis and the results are combined with those of previous studies, forming a hypothesis for the root cause of crack formation in wire-arc sprayed Zn-Al coatings, its effects, and its control.