Many ceramic materials are microstructurally stable at high temperatures, but exhibit poor mechanical properties under load. In this study, a Ni-base superalloy wire mesh is used as a reinforcement to strengthen a 6.15 mm thick layer of plasma-sprayed YSZ. The flexural performance of the ceramic matrix composite (CMC), as determined by a three-point bend test, exceeds that of monolithic YSZ in terms of peak load and displacement before fracture. Heat treatment of the CMC further increases the load at the onset of crack initiation due to enhanced bonding between the constituent materials.

This study assesses the viability of producing electrically conductive carbon nanofiber (CNF) reinforced mullite coatings by thermal spraying. Mullite-CNF agglomerated powder was prepared by spray drying and was deposited on steel by atmospheric plasma spraying. The coatings obtained are characterized based on composition, structure, shape, thickness, and electrical conductivity and are compared with coatings produced from commercial mullite powder.

Oftentimes, the application of bulk ceramics and ceramic coatings is limited by their poor fracture toughness and low strength. The mechanical properties of ceramics can be significantly improved by the incorporation of fibres, whiskers or particles of high strength, like SiC. Due to the high oxygen content of commercially available SiC fibers in combination with the elevated process temperatures, the SiC decomposes during plasma spraying. Therefore commercial SiC fibres were coated for temporary oxidation protection with C, TiN or Al 2 O 3 . By different agglomeration techniques using an organic binder SiC/Al 2 O 3 composite powders were produced. Powder mixtures consisting of coated fibres and pure alumina as well as agglomerated powders have been successfully sprayed to form deposits. Recent results of the manufacture of SiC fibre-reinforced ceramic composites by plasma spray technology are presented. The properties of the composite coatings are compared to plasma sprayed pure alumina.