EBM Technique Study on Microstructural Characterization of Al-Zr-N Coating

Abstract

Through the implementation of the electron beam physical vapour deposition (EB-PVD) technique, an aluminium zirconium nitrate (Al-Zr-N) coating has been created in the current work on high speed steel (E19) substrates. Through the use of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), nano indentation, and scratch tests, the structural morphological and mechanical properties of the substrate are investigated. The cause of tension relaxation and vacancy concentration is explained by the fluorite phase's lattice constant decreasing with rising deposition temperature. As the temperature of the substrate rises, the coating's increased surface roughness is explained by an increase in crystallite size [1]. TBCs are frequently applied to metal substrates using the Atmospheric Plasma Spraying (APS) and Electron Beam Physical Vapour Deposition (EB-PVD) methods. For the next generation of turbine engines, the high costs and relatively high thermal conductivities of EB-PVD coatings, as well as the short thermal lifetime of APS coatings, are significant drawbacks. Suspension Plasma Spraying (SPS) was evaluated in this study to enhance the thermal properties of TBC. The SPS process enables the creation of columnar micro-structures that are easily adjustable in terms of thermal conductivity and columnar structure compaction.