Thermal expansion properties of metallic and cermet coatings

Abstract

Free-standing deposits of NiCrAl, stainless steel, and 8 wt.% yttria-stabilized zirconia were prepared using atmospheric plasma spraying and high velocity oxygen fuel processing. Feedstock powders were blended, yielding mixtures (by weight) of 100%, 75%, and 50% of the metallic material. Porosity and composition (i.e. metal or ceramic constituents) of these deposits were measured by image analysis. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) was measured in the 200–950 °C interval for four thermal cycles. The first runs of these CTE measurements were not linear and differentiation of this curve established the CTE dependence with respect to temperature. Maximums in CTE behavior suggest that stress relaxation and/or oxidation may be occurring. Measurements of CTE from thermal cycles after the first cycle were constant and obeyed the law of mixtures in the measured temperature region, suggesting that stress relaxation and/or oxidation, evident in the first cycle, are no longer dominant. Microstructural analysis and microhardness measurements were used to confirm the findings from CTE measurements.