In this investigation, thermally sprayed cylindrical specimens are machined by turning with different cutting speeds. To ensure that process-induced shearing loads do not cause delamination, a fine helical dovetail structure is cut into the substrate before it is coated with FeCrNi alloy by air plasma spraying. Dovetail structures with different geometries were produced and their effectiveness is compared. The finish-machined surfaces of the FeCrNi coatings were examined and characterized with respect to feed marks, cracks, open pores, pull outs, and residual stresses. It is shown that surface roughness and the number of pull outs decrease with increasing cutting speed while residual stresses remain relatively unchanged, except for the orientation of the first principal stress.

The present work summarizes the most important results of a research project dealing with the comprehensive!! investigation of the bonding mechanisms between cold sprayed Al coatings and various poly- and monocrystalline ceramic substrates (Al 2 O 3 , AlN, Si 3 N 4 , SiC, MgF 2 ). Due to their exceptional combination of properties, metallized ceramics are gaining more and more importance for a wide variety of applications, especially in electronic engineering. Cold spraying provides a quick, flexible and cost-effective one-step process to apply metallic coatings on ceramic surfaces. However, since most of the existing cold spray-related publications focus on metallic substrates, only very little is known about the bonding mechanisms acting between cold sprayed metals and ceramic substrates. In this paper, the essential factors influencing the bonding strength in such composites are identified. Besides mechanical tensile strength testing, a thorough analysis of the coatings and especially the metal/ceramic interfaces was conducted by means of HRTEM, FFT, STEM, EDX, EELS, XRD and EBSD. The influence of substrate material, substrate temperature and particle size is evaluated with regard to the observed bonding behavior. The results suggest that, apart from mechanical interlocking, the adhesion of cold sprayed metallic coatings on ceramics is based on a complex interplay of different mechanisms such as quasi-adiabatic shearing, static recrystallization as well as heteroepitaxial growth.

In this investigation, an air plasma sprayed TBC system consisting of a CoNiCrAlY bond coat (BC) and a YSZ topcoat (TC) is produced with a PVD AlOx interlayer in order to study its effect on thermally grown oxides. For comparative purposes, a reference TBC without the AlOx interlayer was also prepared and studied. A cyclic thermal load was applied to both systems and the coatings were examined after 6, 12, 24, 40, and 80 cycles. Crack lengths were measured in the YSZ layer and TGO thicknesses were assessed at the BC-TC interface. An examination of coating microstructures revealed the expected mixed-mode failure in both TBCs. In comparison to the reference TBC, the system with the AlOx interlayer showed reduced crack formation in the TC and slowed TGO formation at the BC-TC interface both during and after thermal treatment.

The present work builds on investigations of cold gas-sprayed Al coatings on Al 2 O 3 , which strongly indicated that heteroepitaxial growth is a possible mechanism supporting the adhesion between metal and ceramic at their interface. The present study was focused on the deposition of Al on further ceramic substrates (AlN, Si 3 N 4 and SiC). In particular, it should be clarified whether the different ionicity of the chemical bonding in these substrate materials influences the interface formation or not. Aluminum coatings were deposited alternatively by using cold-gas spraying (CGS) and magnetron sputtering. In CGS coatings, the effect of substrate roughness, substrate temperature and powder fraction on the adhesion of the coating was investigated. The magnetron-deposited coatings were used to evaluate the role of the heteroepitaxy in the interface formation and to identify microstructure defects in the metal/ceramic interface, which are caused solely by the lattice misfit between the counterparts and not by the impact-induced deformation that is typical for cold gas-sprayed coatings. Interface characterization was conducted by scanning electron and high resolution transmission electron microscopies combined with XRD.

The physical characteristics and volume growth of TGOs in TBC systems lead to TBC failure. It is proved that enriching the BC/TC interface with α-Al 2 O 3 is beneficial to an extended operational time by prolonging the steady-state growth stage of the TGO. The corresponding phase reactions in TBC systems with heightened Al activity, however, are not studied yet. In this work, the stage formation of TGO layers of TBC systems with PVD-Al interlayers is described. The study uses thermal cyclic loading with dwell time at maximum high temperature of 1,150 °C. The crack formation in the ceramic top coat and the TGOs thickness at the interface are investigated by SEM/EDS after 1, 6, 12, 24, 40 and 80 thermal cycles. The results plot the interface change and crack formation as a function of the thermal cycle number. The corresponding failure mode is discussed.

Thermal barrier coatings typically incorporate a YSZ topcoat and a metallic bond coat. During service, a reaction zone consisting of different thermally grown oxides forms at the interface. Although most such oxides are detrimental, one (α-Al 2 O 3 ) improves service life due to its barrier effect on oxygen diffusion. In this study, Al and AlOx films are deposited on metallic bond coats by dc magnetron sputtering prior to topcoat deposition. The resulting TBCs were thermally cycled to determine the effect of the interlayer films on service life and TGO formation. It is shown that the Al films transform in situ into dense Al 2 O 3 layers that act as oxygen diffusion barriers. TBCs with interlayer alumina, whether deposited directly or formed in situ, showed less cracking and were more mechanically stable during thermal cycle tests.

This work investigates the adhesion mechanisms associated with cold gas sprayed metallic coatings on ceramic substrates. Aluminum layers were deposited on sintered corundum plates and single-crystalline sapphire substrates with different lattice orientations. Examination of the interface region showed that adhesion was the result of recrystallisation and heteroepitaxial growth. Cold spray aluminum coatings were also deposited on Al 2 O 3 , AlN, Si 3 N 4 , and SiC substrates to determine if ionic bonding plays a role in interface formation. For comparison, aluminum coatings produced by physical vapor deposition were also examined.

In this study, aluminum is deposited by cold gas spraying on smooth and rough alumina substrates. SEM examination of single particle splats on polycrystalline Al 2 O 3 suggests that mechanical interlocking is the primary bonding mechanism for cold gas sprayed metals on rough ceramic surfaces. Coating cross-sections on monocrystalline, atomically smooth sapphire substrates were examined by means of high-resolution TEM, revealing nanosized Al grains close to the interface, which could be an indicator of recrystallisation induced by local heating and the deformation energy stored in the particle during impact.

The most recent increase in turbine entry temperature (TET) can be obtained by the use of Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCs) on cooled hot section components. The TBC systems are comprised of Ni-based super-alloy substrate which provides certain mechanical properties and blade geometry consisting of a ceramic top coat with low thermal conductivity applied to a metallic bond coat resulting in a significant temperature drop across the coating. The bond coat provides oxidation resistance and adherence of the top coat to the substrate. In this study different bond coat layers were applied on carbon steel substrates which were covered by yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) as a top coat layer using atmospheric plasma spray technique (APS). Al-12%Si and Al 99% were deposited by cold gas dynamic spray technique (CGDS) while Ni-5%Al layer was deposited by high velocity oxy fuel technique (HVOF). Heat treatment was performed on the samples under controlled atmosphere for 15 hrs. The microstructure and micro hardness of as sprayed and after heat treatment samples were investigated. Adhesion strength for top coat / bond coat interface and bond coat / substrate interface were investigated. The residual stresses for as sprayed and after heat treatment was estimated by XRD measurement on the top coat layer with different bond coat material. The results indicate that the adhesion strength either for as sprayed or after heat treatment was enhanced using this new bond coat materials compared to the traditionally as deposited Ni Co Cr Al Y bond coat material.

A novel process to produce dense, well adherent aluminium coatings on ceramic materials is cold gas spraying (CGS). The mechanical, physical and chemical processes leading to the bonding of cold-sprayed coatings on ceramic substrates have only been described rudimentarily. A survey of the literature on adhesion mechanisms of cold spray coatings is given, where influences on bond strength are discussed and parameters identified. Using the example of coating Al 2 O 3 and AlN substrates with pure aluminium via cold gas spraying, a process and substrate parameter variation is presented. A significant raise in tensile coating strength was seen at elevated substrate temperatures and after subsequent annealing. Tensile strength also depended on chemical composition and roughness of the substrate. The results allow the discussion of the bonding mechanisms of cold spray aluminium on ceramic substrates as a function of deposition and annealing parameters.

In this work, mechanically alloyed Al–12Si/TiB 2 /h-BN composite powder was deposited onto an aluminum substrate by atmospheric plasma spraying. The results revealed that the mechanical alloying (MA) process has a significant effect on composite powder morphology and in-situ reaction intensity between the selective powders during plasma spraying. In addition, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) powder incorporated as a solid lubricant, which has excellent lubricating properties, decomposed into B and N and formed a solid solution after a long period of milling. More specifically, during plasma spraying a large amount of h-BN reacted with Al to form AlN. Unlubricated ball-on-disk testing ring was used to examine the anti wear performance of the coatings. The worn surfaces were examined using scanning electron and energy dispersive spectroscopy to elucidate the wear mechanisms operating at the sliding interface.

The thermal spray application of inert gas atomised iron based powders for combined wear and corrosion protection prospectively offers important economical advantages compared to the well-established cermet coatings due to their lower price. Recent studies revealed basic knowledge about the thermal spray processing of these materials. For protecting the substrate from corrosive media, coatings have to be dense and impermeable to fluids. Especially poor bonding, occurring between partially melted or unmelted spray particles, leads to open porosity. Hence a certain degree of melting of particles is required. The GTV K2 spray gun allows the use of different nozzles to vary process temperature and velocity in a wide range. This paper shows the influence of applicated nozzles and process conditions on coating characteristics. Powder and coating characterisation is carried out by means of optical microscopy, digital image analysis, SEM and XRD. Additionally, some results regarding microhardness and wear behaviour are given.

Development of new arc sprayed iron based coatings for protection against gas abrasive wear at room and elevated temperatures are of the great interest because of permanently increasing pressure to reduce production and repair costs of power production facilities. Two cored wires in steel cover with Fe-Cr-B-Al and Fe-Cr-N-Al filling are proposed as an alternative choice for self fluxing and cermet coatings that are considered nowadays for protection of screen tubes of boilers of power stations that are operated under the temperatures 500-600 °C. Oxidation behaviour of arc sprayed coatings is estimated by gravimetric measurements. Abrasive wear resistance at elevated temperatures after 1 hour is investigated by means of laboratory unit that alloys a rotation of coated specimens in heated quartz sand. It is shown that abrasion wear lost of carbon steel increases 1.5 times when test temperature increases from 20 °C to 550 °C. For all investigated coatings the 20-25% decrease of wear lost is observed at higher temperature. Arc sprayed coatings of both investigated systems improve significally the abrasive wear resistance of carbon steel. At room temperature the improvement by factor 1.3-2.2 times and at the temperature 550 °C by factor 2.7-4.6 is observed depending on chemical composition of coatings.

Different post treatment methods are developed up to now to improve the properties of thermally sprayed coatings. In this work, arc sprayed aluminium coatings on aluminium substrates are post-treated by plasma electrolytic oxidation. To estimate the wear resistance of resulting oxide coatings, two abrasive wear tests (ASTM G65 and ASTM C1624) are carried out. Worn surfaces are examined by scanning electron microscopy in order to establish the wear mechanisms. These results of the abrasive wear tests are correlated with the parameters of the PEO process and the hence resulting micro structures of the coatings.

For deposition of protective coatings different coating techniques are available. Usually, detailed evaluation of various deposit types and materials is necessary for selection of the best suited coating for specific application fields and demands. Subject of this work are thermally sprayed functional coatings applied as wear (and corrosion) protective layers. Examination of different optimized thermal spray coatings, i.e. HVOF sprayed WC/Co(Cr) and Cr 3 C 2 /NiCr coatings, conventional flame sprayed and fused self fluxing alloy coatings reinforced by hardmetal and APS sprayed oxide Al 2 O 3 /TiO 2 and Cr 2 O 3 coatings, is done in comparison to thick hard chromium platings. Two abrasive wear tests featuring wear by lose abrasive particles are carried out. These impart dry wear conditions according to ASTM G65 (Rubber Wheel test) and wear by abrasive suspensions according to ASTM G75 (Miller test). The work also contains evaluation of newly developed HVOF torch components permitting increased combustion gas, and therefore also particle, velocities concerning the benefit in terms of coating properties. Exemplary evaluation of the new components influence on velocity and temperature of spray particles is carried out by comparative SprayWatch analyses. Both the influence on the coatings microstructure and the wear performance are studied. Coating microstructure is evaluated qualitatively by optical and scanning electron microscopy and the micro hardness HV0.3 is measured. Worn surfaces are studied by SEM in order to deduce wear mechanisms.

Different post treatment methods such as heat treatment, mechanical processing, sealing, etc. are known to be capable to improve microstructure and exploitation properties of thermal spray coatings. In this work a plasma electrolytic oxidation of aluminium coatings obtained by arc spraying on aluminium and carbon steel substrates is carried out. Microstructure and properties of oxidised layers formed on sprayed coating as well as on bulk material are investigated. Oxidation is performed in electrolyte containing KOH and liquid glass under different process parameters. It is shown that thick uniform oxidised layers can be formed on arc sprayed aluminium coatings as well as on solid material. Distribution of alloying elements and phase composition of obtained layers are investigated. A significant improvement of wear resistance of treated layers in two types of abrasive wear conditions is observed.

The combination of excellent mechanical, thermal and chemical properties of silicon carbide (SiC) and titanium carbide (TiC) has made these materials very attractive both for structural ceramics applications and for thermal sprayed coatings. To suppress oxidation and to avoid the formation of silicides during spraying of SiC-based composites, feedstock spray powders have been developed containing 32 wt.-% of an alumina-yttrium ceramic binder matrix. The spray powders are prepared by spray-drying and sintering (a&s). Also, TiC-based composite spray powders showing the same matrix material and content have been developed and produced. Thermal spray processing of the described powders by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) using an F6 APS torch and high velocity oxygen fuel spraying (HVOF) with the Top Gun G acetylene torch is carried out. Both the produced coatings and feedstock powder are characterized by optical microscopy, X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) including energy dispersive X-ray analyses (EDXS).

The crushed and rounded ferroboron (FeB) powders of Fe-18.8B-0.2C-0.5Si-0.8Al (wt %) were deposited onto an aluminum substrate by thermal spraying methods to improve its tribological properties. Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) powders which have excellent lubricating properties like graphite were incorporated to the iron boride powders as solid lubricant by sintering process and high energy ball milling technique which allows homogeneous distribution of solid lubricants in a hard metallic matrix to obtain protective coatings with low friction coefficient. As-sprayed coatings are composed of mainly h-BN and FeB, iron matrix supersaturated with boron owing to the rapid solidification of molten droplets flattened on a substrate. The friction and wear behaviors of each coating were evaluated using ring-on-disk type wear tester under paraffin base oil condition in air atmosphere. Preliminary results revealed that iron boride powder with h-BN powder (5 wt.%) is an applicable method to produce a protective composite coating against friction and wear.

Newly developed iron based hard alloy powders with high chromium and vanadium contents are used for coating production by means of HVOF and LPPS. Crack free and dense coatings with fairly homogeneous microstructure are possible for both spraying methods. XRD analyses of sprayed coatings prove phase compositions similar to those of the powder feedstock when using HVOF systems. In contrast LPPS coatings contain a large share of amorphous phase. Microhardness of LPPS and HVOF coatings is about 1,200 HV0.3 and 800 - 950 HV0.3 respectively. The higher microhardness of LPPS coatings is attributed to the presence of the amorphous phase. However, LPPS coatings are brittle and tend to crack under mechanical load. Wear resistance of coatings is determined by means of corundum grinding disk and ASTM G65 wear test. Corrosion behavior is characterized by means of salt fog test and electrochemical measurements. Cermet and stainless steel 316L coatings are used for comparative purposes in the investigations.

There are constantly increasing requirements concerning light-weight concepts in automotive design due to energy saving demands. Additionally reduction of component weight is desired for demountable parts to permit easier handling. One innovative development example in this field is a draw bar consisting of precipitation hardened aluminum featuring significant weight reduction compared to presently applied steel draw bars. However, low wear resistance of aluminum alloys makes sophisticated addition of wear resistant parts in the area of the positive fit necessary. This leads to increased machining time, further costs for purchasing and machining of adapted additional components and further assembling steps. A study on the capability of thermal spray coating deposition in the positive fit area for substitution of the sophisticated wear protection system is carried out. Different HVOF coating systems with variable thicknesses are tested concerning their capability to withstand bending stress. The optimum combination of Ni20Cr bond coats and Cr 3 C 2 - 25 Ni20Cr top coats is applied for prototype production. The prototypes are tested concerning their performance under dynamical load and in corrosion tests. All produced prototypes pass both mechanical and corrosion tests. Prototypes, on which arc-sprayed Ni20Cr coatings are deposited as a low-cost solution, are still in tests.