Thermophysical Properties of Thermal Sprayed Coatings on Carbon Steel Substrates by Photothermal Radiometry

Abstract

Laser infrared photothermal radiometry (PTR) was used to measure the thermophysical properties (thermal diffusivity and conductivity) of various thermal sprayed coatings on carbon steel. A one-dimensional photothermal model of a three-layered system in the backscattered mode was introduced and compared with experimental measurements. The uppermost layer was used to represent a roughness-equivalent layer, a second layer represented the thermal sprayed coating, and the third layer represented the substrate. The thermophysical parameters of thermal sprayed coatings examined in this work were obtained when a multiparameter-fit optimization algorithm was used with the backscattered PTR experimental results. The results also suggested a good method to determine the thickness of tungsten carbide and stainless-steel thermal spray coatings once the thermophysical properties are known. The ability of PTR to measure the thermophysical properties and the coating thickness has a strong potential as a method for in situ characterization of thermal spray coatings.