In this study, a hybrid plasma spraying process is used to produce particle-reinforced metal-matrix composite coatings on 316 stainless steel. Two injectors are mounted at the output of the plasma gun, one feeding a nickel-base alloy powder, the other feeding a suspension of alumina nanoparticles. Different feed rates, suspension compositions, and alumina particle contents are used and their effects on microstructure, microhardness, porosity, adhesion, and wear behavior are assessed.

In nuclear plants, the replacement of hardfacing Stellite, a cobalt-base alloy, on parts of the piping system in connection with the reactor has been investigated since the late 60’s. Various Fe-base or Ni-base alloys, Co-free or with a low content of Co, have been developed but their mechanical properties are generally lower than that of Stellites. The 4th generation nuclear plants impose additional or more stringent requirements for hardfacing materials. Plasma transferred arc (PTA) coatings of cobalt-free nickel-base alloys with the addition of sub-micrometric or micrometric alumina particles are thought to be a potential solution for tribological applications in the primary system of sodium-cooled fast reactors. In this study, PTA coatings of nickel-base alloys reinforced with alumina particles were deposited on 316L stainless steel substrates. The examination of coatings revealed a refinement of the microstructure. Under the conditions of the study, the addition of alumina particles did not improve the micro-hardness of coatings but improve their resistance to abrasive wear.

Plasma generated by an SG-100 torch was applied to a spray suspension formulated with the use of ZrO 2 +8 wt% Y 2 O 3 (8YSZ) solid phase. The solids had a mean size of about 4.5 μm and were obtained by milling of commercial Metco 204 NS powder. The suspension was formulated with 20 wt% solid phase, 40 wt% water and 40 wt% ethanol. The plasma spray parameters were optimized with the electric power equal to 40 kW, working gases composition Ar 45 slpm and H 2 5 slpm, spray distance varying from 40 to 60 mm, and torch scan linear speed varying from 300 to 500 mm/s. Coatings with thicknesses ranging from 51 to 106 μm were sprayed onto stainless steel substrates. The porosity of the samples was found from the image analysis of metallographically prepared cross-sections of the samples to be in the range of 8 to 12%. Thermal diffusivity was measured with the use of the commercial NanoFlash system in the temperature range from room temperature to 523 K. The measurements were made with the use of the coatings sprayed on the substrate, and a 2-layer numerical model was developed to determine thermal diffusivity of the coatings. The diffusivity was in the range from 0.196 × 10 -6 to 0.352 × 10 -6 m 2 /s in room temperature depending on the spray parameters. The obtained data were then associated with the literature data of density and specific heat and experimental porosity to find thermal conductivity, which was in the range of 0.47 to 0.86 W/(mK) at room temperature, depending on the spray run.

Alumina-titania plasma spray coatings are widely used for their tribological performances. The combination of these two ceramics in a particular mix percentage permits to manufacture coatings with better wear resistance in comparison to those made of pure alumina. Suspension plasma spraying permit to manufacture sub-micrometer structure coatings very fine structure thanks to precursors which have an initial size of 10 to 300 nm. The use of a liquid feedstock, aqueous or alcoholic, allows the use of nanometer particles directly without the need to agglomerate them to obtain conventional nanostructured micrometer-sized powders. This study aims at studying Al 2 O 3 and Al 2 O 3 -TiO 2 coatings made from aqueous and alcoholic suspensions produced by suspension plasma spraying. Microstructures and phase evolutions are considered. Manufactured coatings present different architectures depending of operating parameters and feedstock particle sizes; the lower the particle diameter, the thinner the microstructure. Phases composition are discussed and compared to conventional micrometer-sized structure Al 2 O 3 and Al 2 O 3 -TiO 2 coatings.

As already shown 3 years ago, the preoxidation of smooth (Ra < 0.05 µm) low carbon steel substrates in a furnace under a CO 2 rich atmosphere at atmospheric pressure allows the formation of a wustite (Fe1-xO) layer which improves significantly the adhesion (> 55 MPa) of alumina coatings in spite of the rather low roughness (0.10 µm < Ra < 1.00 µm) of the oxidized surface. This contribution is devoted to a more precise study of the wustite layer and its interface with the alumina layer by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Mossbauer spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Firstly the substrate was oxidized under different temperatures and durations in order to control the oxide layer thickness and structure. Secondly the substrate samples were preoxidized during 15 minutes at 1273 K under CO 2 atmosphere and, afterwards, preheated by the plasma jet in air just before coating. In this case the analysis was focused both on the alumina splat formation and the interface between splat and the oxide layer. Only a non-continuous alumina layer (a few splats) was sprayed: this allowed surface analysis down to the substrate through the alumina layer and the interface. This method avoids any modification of the searched information by a complex specimen preparation as required in the case of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for example. For the steel surface preheated in CO 2 atmosphere, before spraying, SEM observations and XRD patterns showed the presence of a continuous oxide layer formed by wüstite crystals with an average size of 1-5 µm. After deposition, splats consisted of transitional alumina (γ phase) but the underlayer was no longer pure wüstite. XRD and Mossbauer identified magnetite at the surface of the oxide scale in contact with alumina. This can probably be considered as the result of a partial topotactic transformation of wustite into magnetite, since no morphological change of the oxide layer has been observed. It has been established that this transformation is a consequence of the pre-heating treatment, and not due to any reaction with alumina. It is worth noting that, under these conditions, γ alumina has a spinel structure analogous to that of the magnetite phase with which it was in contact: the alumina structure was possibly induced by that of the magnetite underlayer.