Mechanical Properties of Yttria- and Ceria-Stabilized Zirconia Coatings Obtained by Suspension Plasma Spraying

Plasma generated by the SG-100 torch was applied to spray suspension formulated with the use of ZrO2 + 8 wt.% Y2O3 (8YSZ) and ZrO2 + 24 wt.% CeO2 + 2.5 wt.% Y2O3 (24CeYSZ) as solid phases. The suspensions were formulated with the use of 20 wt.% solid phase, 40 wt.% water, and 40 wt.% ethanol. The plasma spray parameters were optimized by keeping constant: (a) the electric power of 40 kW and (b) the working gas compositions of 45 slpm for Ar and 5 slpm for H-2. On the other hand, the spray distance was varied from 40 to 60 mm and the torch linear speed was varied from 300 to 500 mm/s. The coatings were sprayed onto stainless steel substrates, and their thicknesses were in the range from 70 to 110 mu m. The coating microstructures were analyzed with a scanning electron microscope. Mechanical properties were tested with the different methods including the indentation and scratch tests. The indentation test, carried out with various loads ranging from 100 to 10,000 mN, enabled to determine elastic modulus and Martens microhardness. Young's modulus of the coatings was in the range of 71-107 GPa for 8YSZ and 68-130 GPa for 24CeYSZ coatings. The scratch test enabled the authors to find the scratch macrohardness.