Influence of Chromia Alloying on the Characteristics of APS and HVOF Sprayed Alumina Coatings

Abstract

Abstract In order to improve both corrosion and wear resistance of standard plasma sprayed alumina coatings chromia alloyed feedstock powders and high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) spraying as an alternative process were used in this work. Alumina and alumina-chromia powders with different chromia contents (27% and 50%-mass., but with different amount of (Al,Cr)2O3 solid solution formed) were deposited by TopGun HVOF spraying and atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). The coatings were evaluated by optical microscopy, microhardness measurements, XRD and SEM. Abrasion wear resistance of the coatings was tested with the rubber-wheel abrasion test. Corrosion characteristics of the coatings were evaluated by exposure tests at 85 °C for 310 hours at low and high pH conditions. The amount of dissolved elements in solution, as analysed by ICP, was found to be a direct indication of the corrosion resistance of the coatings. Coatings deposited by TopGun HVOF spraying resulted in a denser microstructure, higher microhardness and significantly improved abrasion wear resistance as compared to corresponding coatings deposited by APS. For the tested conditions, corrosion resistance of both APS and HVOF-sprayed alumina coatings was low but significantly improved by chromia addition for both spray processes. However, the content of chromia addition alone does not allow to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of this measure.