Influence of deposition temperature on the microstructures and properties of plasma-sprayed Al ₂O ₃ coatings

Al ₂O ₃ coatings were deposited on 1Cr13 substrates by atmospheric plasma spraying at different deposition temperatures of 140, 275, 375, 480, 530, and 660 °C to investigate the effect of coating surface temperature on the lamellar bonding formation. The fractured cross section morphology was characterized by scanning electron microscopy to reveal the lamellar interface bonding. X-ray diffraction was used to characterize the phase contents in the coating. Micro-hardness, Young's modulus, and thermal conductivity of the deposits were measured for examining the dependency of coating properties on its microstructure. The results show that the interface area bonded through columnar grain growth across splat-splat interfaces was increased with increasing deposition temperature. Moreover, micro-hardness, Young's modulus and thermal conductivity were increased with the increase of deposition temperature. However, the phase structure of the coating changed little with deposition temperature. The results evidently indicate that the apparent bonding ratio and properties of deposits can be significantly changed in a wider range through controlling the deposition temperature.