The effect of bond coat on mechanical properties of plasma-sprayed Al2O3 and Al2O3-13 wt% TiO2 coatings on AISI 316L stainless steel

In this study, Al2O3 and Al2O3-13 wt% TiO2 were plasma sprayed onto AISI 316L stainless-steel substrate with and without Ni-5 wt% Al as bond coat layer. The coated specimens were characterized by optical microscopy, metallography and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Bonding strength of coatings were evaluated in accordance with the ASTM C-633 method. It was observed that the dominant phase was Al2O3 for both coatings. It was also found that the hardness of coating with bond coat was higher than that of coating without bond coat. Metallographic studies revealed that coating with bond coating has three different regions, which are the ceramic layer (Al2O3 or Al2O3-13 wt% TiO2), the bond coating, and matrix, which is not affected by coating. The coating performed by plasma-spray process without bond coating has two zones, the gray one indicating the ceramic layer and the white one characterizing the matrix. No delamination or spalling was observed in coatings. However, there are some pinholes in coating layer, but they are very rare. The bonding strength of coatings with bond coat was higher than that of coating without bond coat. The strength of adhesion and cohesion was determined by means of a planemeter. It was seen that percentage of cohesion strength was higher than that of adhesion strength. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.