Some of the recent research progress concerning the structure and properties of thermal sprayed coatings are reviewed. Structures of coatings are classified into three classes of hierarchy, i.e., layer structures, inter-splat structures and intra-splat structures. Important progress in the study and coatings development in each class is described. These include coatings developed to take advantage of the microstructure due to rapid solidification, such as amorphous and extension of solid state solubility, and characterization of porosity and how it is affected by process parameters. Then, stress generation during thermal spray is compared between plasma spray and HVOF spray. Particular attention is given to the importance of thermal and mechanical interactions of sprayed particles with the substrate and coating surface, which determine the nature of interlamellar bonding and that of microscopic stress.

MoSi2 powder was deposited by low pressure plasma spraying on the specimen with 50%Ni-50%Cr based coat after blasted SS400 substrate. Compressive stress was generated in MoSi2 spray deposit. Tensile stress was generated in 50%Ni-50%Cr spray deposit. Large compressive stress was generated in SS400 substrate adjacent to the interface. Investigating the production mechanism of residual stress and the validity of provided residual stress, a series of the experiments were done. Blasting on the substrate, residual stress near the surface of the substrate was compressive and that of the inner part of the substrate was tensile. After the blast treatment on SS400 substrate, depositing on the substrate with 50%Ni50% Cr, residual stress of the spray deposit was tensile. This is because SS400 substrate restricts the contraction of 50%Ni-50%Cr spray deposit which has large thermal shrinkage. Depositing MoSi2 after the blast treatment, compressive stress was generated in the spray deposit. This is because the linear expansion thermal coefficient of MoSi2 is extremely small comparing with that of SS400 substrate nevertheless the temperature of the spray deposit is higher than that of the substrate. As the result, the spray deposit restricts thermal shrinkage of the substrate. The validity of estimated residual stress was shown.

Tungsten carbide thermal spray coatings have been used for more than twenty years in the commercial aircraft industry in applications such as turbine blade and flap-track wear surfaces. Additionally, the evaluation of tungsten carbide (WC) coatings to replace chrome plating in other aircraft applications has been underway for several years. For example, WC coatings applied by the high velocity, oxy-fuel (HVOF) process are being evaluated for use on aircraft landing gear parts. One factor that affects the suitability of WC coatings is the fatigue life of the coated part. This study compares the fatigue life of electrodeposited chrome plated specimens to the fatigue life of WC HVOF-sprayed specimens on aircraft landing gear alloys. Fatigue tests were run on cantilever flat beam specimens coated on one side and subjected to bending fatigue loads. Residual stress levels for the coatings were determined using the Modified Layer Removal Method on rectangular residual stress specimens processed with the flat beam specimens. Also, the Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio of the coating were determined using the Cantilever Beam Bending Method performed on beam specimens that were processed with the fatigue specimens and the residual stress specimens. Results indicate that certain levels of residual stress in the coating can enhance the fatigue life of the parts. The fatigue lives in bending tests of several WC coated specimens are compared with the fatigue life of chrome plated specimens.

The thermomechanical properties of plasma-sprayed deposits strongly depend on residual stress distribution. This latter is mainly attributed to the relative torch/substrate velocity as well as to the cooling system location and efficiency. The determining of both quenching and thermal stresses, which are generated respectively during spraying stage and cooling stage, is then required to improve coatings quality. A rather simple apparatus, which consists in monitoring the curvature of a beam substrate during the whole deposition process, has been developed to work under industrial conditions. It has been applied to partially stabilized zirconia coatings performed onto stainless steel and cast iron substrates. Spraying temperature and plasma gun velocity have been selected as relevant parameters for this study about stress generation and mechanical release. Finally, four point bend tests have been performed on deposited samples to measure coating mechanical properties and to evaluate damage level.

316L stainless steel powder was sprayed by a high-pressure HVOF process. Effects of powder size and the pressure in the combustion chamber on the velocity and temperature of sprayed particles were studied by using an optical instrument firstly at the substrate position. A strong negative correlation between the particle diameter and temperature was found whereas the correlation between the diameter and the velocity was not significant. The pressure in the combustion chamber affected the velocity of sprayed particles significantly whereas the particles' temperature remained largely unchanged. In-situ curvature measurement was employed in order to sturdy the process of stress generation during HVOF spraying. From the measured curvature changes, the intensity of peening action and the resultant compressive stress by HVOF sprayed particles were found to increase with the kinetic energy of the sprayed particles. The results were further used to estimate the stress distribution within the coatings.

An investigation has been undertaken on the analysis of residual stress in glass coatings during plasma spraying. Theoretical analysis and in-situ experimental measurements show that the residual stresses in glass coatings are particularly sensitive to the heat input from the plasma flame, since this can raise the temperature to above the glass transition temperature. Control of the spraying parameters enables the quench stress of splats to be relaxed by the end of the spraying and the only significant remaining source of stress derives from the differential contraction between the coating and substrate during cooling. The analysis also shows that a stress transition occurs during cooling and that the sign of the final residual stress depends upon the expansion coefficient of the glass. The residual stresses are shown to govern the critical coating thickness for cracking and the coating adhesion.

The ability of high damping iron-chromium-aluminium alloys and coatings to absorb noise and vibrations has been investigated over a wide range of frequencies and amplitudes. The damping capacity was determined using a cantilever method based on the modal analysis technique of the flat beams and was found to be very sensitive to internal stress of specimens. Heat treatment usually enhanced the loss capability, but only an optimised annealing restored the maximum damping capacity. The influence of vibration amplitude evidenced by appearance of a maximum around ε = 10-4”, while the vibration frequency did not influence 'damping behaviour significantly. The position of the maximum damping was shifted towards lower strains with annealing time and temperature. The structure of magnetic domains was observed using the magneto-optical Kerr effect and their modification following to an applied stress or magnetic field was associated with different values of the damping capacity. Accordingly, the beneficial effect of annealing on damping capacity arises on the one hand from improved mobility of unpinned domain walls and on the other hand from growth of 90° domains considered as the principal responsible of damping. Addition of aluminium between 1-8 wt%. improved the damping values notably around 4 wt%.

The five independent elastic constants of plasma spray deposits were calculated from constitutive equations and the microstructural information (void aspect ratios and porosity) were gained from stereological analysis. The voids within the deposit were assumed to be a spheroidal shape. The structure of the deposit was considered to be transversely isotropic with respect to the spray direction, which requires five independent elastic constants of a stiffness tensor. Solid mechanics models containing spheroid-shape voids were applied to obtain the five independent elastic constants of the deposits. The calculated elastic constants were compared to the experimentally determined values.

A novel method for characterization of microstructure of coatings is presented. Properties of plasma spray coatings are affected by their microstructure, which depends on the spraying conditions. Therefore, a detailed knowledge of microstructure is very important in order to know the coating formation mechanism and the properties of the coatings. There are many studies to characterize the microstructure of coatings. In most of those studies, the microstructures are characterized from the polished cross-section of the coatings, and the results strongly depend on the preparation methods. In this study, a new method for the characterization of coating microstructures by means of surface morphology is proposed. The distribution of shape and dimensions of splats were examined using quantitative analysis of scanning electron microscope images from the surface of the coatings. The results indicate that the surface morphology strongly depends on the spraying conditions. Keywords: characterization, coating property, splat morphology, equivalent diameter, shape factor

Spinel powders of different compositions were fabricated for their good properties of chemical resistance. These powders were plasma sprayed on steels and their microstructure was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), microanalysis, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Due to the powder fabrication process, coatings were very heterogeneous in composition, but had the spinel structure. TEM observations pointed out that splat solidification occurred with a cooling rate gradient leading to different crystallization inside a lamella. Young's moduli by the coatings were measured by the resonant frequency method and the correlation with coating microstructure was discussed.

The silicon coating was sprayed on titanium substrate by low pressure plasma spraying and the subsequent coating was heat-treated in vacuum. It is found that a titanium silicide coating with the composition changed gradually can be formed through thermal diffusion treatment of silicon coating sprayed by low pressure plasma on titanium substrate. The formed silicide coatings are characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, EPMA analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The forming process of the silicide coating is investigated by examining the relationship between silicide coating thickness and thermal diffusion parameters. The results show that the composition of silicide coating changes gradually from TiSi, at the silicon coating side through TiSi and Ti5Si4, to Ti5Si4, near substrate side. The thickness of such graded silicide coating is determined by temperature and holding time during heat-treatment. The diffusion of silicon into titanium substrate is mainly responsible for the formation of silicide. Moreover, the investigation of oxidation behavior of silicide coating shows that the formation of silicide coating on the titanium substrate can improve the oxidation resistance of titanium.

Fatigue strength and fracture mechanism of a medium carbon steel with HVOF thermally sprayed WC-Co coatings were investigated under rotating bending. Two types of commercially available WC-Co powders were used, which have similar total chemical composition with different manufacturing processes. The fatigue strengths of the specimens with thick coatings were lower than that with thinner ones. Especially, it was found that the fatigue strengths of the thick coating specimens decreased more greatly than that of the grit blasted ones. Also, the morphology of the fatigue crack depended on the type of powders and the thickness of the coating. Futhermore, an embedded Al 2 O 3 grit and a crack generated during the grit blasting were found near the fatigue fracture origin of the coated substrate.

CrNiAlTi, NiCrBSi and WC-Ni coatings have been thermal and plasma sprayed projected over a stainless steel surface in order to protect it against heat and erosion actions encountered in power plant boilers. Their microstructure, porosity and microhardness have been measured. High temperature oxidation under an atmosphere similar to service conditions in power plants and thermal fatigue tests have also been performed in our experimental combustion chamber and, finally, the adhesion between the substrate and the coating layer has been evaluated by means of tensile tests. The obtained results have been discussed paying especial attention to the microstructural materials evolution due to thermal effects and coating projection methods.

Within a Brite Euram project thick thermal barrier coatings for combustor applications were produced by plasma spraying of yttria partially stabilised zirconia (ZrO2 + 8 wt.% Y2O3). The material properties of such coatings strongly depend on their microstructure which can be altered by manipulating the parameters controlling the plasma spraying process. Covering a variation of possible microstructures, the coatings considered had a thickness of about 2 mm and were six to eight times thicker than the coatings currently in service. This investigation was concerned with an evaluation of the thermophysical and mechanical properties of these coatings and their correlation with the microstructure and the plasma spray parameters. Particular attention was paid to the influence of coating segmentation, microcracking and porosity. The experimental work included the measurement of the thermal diffusivity using the laser flash technique, thermal expansion measurements, and the determination of flexural strength and Young's modulus by means of a specially constructed four-point bend rig. Since some of the samples considered were sprayed according to a partially factorial test plan a statistical evaluation of the material data was possible yielding the correlation between process parameters and material properties.

During Thermal Spraying material is partially or totally melted in between milliseconds, accelerated to high velocities and propelled onto the surface to be coated. Different temperatures, velocities and cooling times of the particles arise from different spraying techniques and conditions. The microstructure can be widely varied by tuning the spraying parameters. To optimize the coating properties with respect to a specific function one has to know i) the influence of the spraying conditions on the microstructure and ii) the correlation between microstructure and coating properties. Therefore analyzing methods are needed to determine the microstructure and to characterize mechanical, physical and chemical properties of the coatings. The proposed paper summarizes methods to characterize the microstructure including metallographic techniques, electron microscopy and X-ray analysis. Methods to determine the properties of the coatings including various adhesion tests, residual stress measurement, tribological and corrosion tests will be described in more detail. The increasing importance of Quality Management in all industrial sectors call heavily for reliable, destructive and especially non-destructive characterization techniques of coatings. An overview of common characterization techniques as well as new trends will be given. Recent development of International standardized tests will also be reported.

Rotating bending fatigue tests have been conducted at room temperature in laboratory air using specimens of medium carbon steel (S45C), low alloy steel (SCM435) and titanium alloy (Ti-6AI-4V) with HVOF sprayed coating of a cermet (WC-12%Co) and S45C with WFS sprayed coating of a 13Cr steel (SUS420J2). Plane bending fatigue tests were also conducted at stress ratios, R, of -1, -0.5 and 0 for S45C with WC-12%Co coating. The fatigue strength and fracture mechanisms were studied. The fatigue strength evaluated by nominal stress was strongly influenced by substrate materials, R and the thickness of sprayed coatings. Detailed observation of crack initiation on the coating surface and fracture surface revealed that a crack was initiated in the coating and then cracks were initiated in the substrate due to the stress concentration of the crack in the coating. The fatigue strength of the sprayed materials was dominated by that of the sprayed coating. Therefore, the fatigue strength could be evaluated uniquely in terms of the true stress on the coating surface. The influence of compressive residual stress of the sprayed coatings on fatigue strength was discussed based on the fatigue mechanisms at different stress ratios.

Impact performance of plasma spray coatings is usually evaluated by means of surface observation after impact action. As a matter of fact, the dynamic response characteristics of coatings in the course of impact action are also very important. In this paper, a method of response frequency spectrum analysis is developed for the impact evaluation of plasma spray coatings. An impact test machine, in which the impact load is generated by a pivot-rod-lever system, is specially designed, allowing both single impact test and repeated impact test. The frequency spectra of Cr2O3 ceramic coating and WC-Co17% alloy coating under single and repeated impact action are analyzed. The results show that there is an obvious relationship between the impact performance and the impact response frequency spectrum. Abrupt changes in the coating, such as appearance of surface cracks and surface damage, correspond the sudden changes of the response frequency spectrum.

Pure copper thick deposits were vacuum plasma sprayed in such a way that several porosity levels were obtained. Mechanical compressive tests permitted to assess the mechanical behavior of these materials and to study the associated pore microstructural changes. A linear porosity level decrease was observed during the first stages of the compressive squeezing, until the stress reached a specific value corresponding to a transition between pore contraction and copper splats deformation. Stereological measurements showed that the pore squeezing was isotropic.

Polyphenylene-sulphide (PPS) and polyphenyletheretherketone (PEEK) have high heat and corrosion-resistant performance. Thermal sprayed coatings of PPS and PEEK have been produced by the HVAF spray system. The molecular structures of these coatings have been analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer (FT-IR) and Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC). The microstructures of cross-section and surfaces of these coatings have been observed. The formation mechanism of these coatings has been estimated as follows; (1) PPS and PEEK powders are melted and oxidized during thermal spraying. However, the amount of coating oxidation is very small, so that high anti-corrosion performance of sprayed coatings is obtained. (2) These coatings have some pores including the incomplete melting particles. However, it is estimated that these pores are closed-pores.

Fe-Cr(-Mo) alloy coatings were thermal sprayed by different processes of LPPS, HVOF and HPS. The as-sprayed coating by LPPS is perfectly amorphous and coatings by other processes contain partly crystalline phases. The amorphous phases crystallize at 773 K or more and shows a high hardness of about 1000 to 1400 DPN just after crystallization. The anodic polarization curves of the coatings shift from active to passive state in 1N H2SO4 and 1N HCl solutions. The coatings obtained by LPPS indicate the lowest active and passive current densities and possess the best corrosion resistance. The corrosion resistance of the coatings obtained by other processes are better than a SUS316L stainless steel coating. The LPPS coating of Fe-Cr-C-P alloy is not attacked on immersion test in 6% FeCl3·6H2O solution containing 0.05N HCl at the corrosion potential, while large pit corrosion is developed in a SUS316L stainless steel sheet.