Porosity and Micro-Hardness of Shrouded Plasma Sprayed Titanium Coatings

Titanium and its alloys are often used as key materials for corrosion protection. A promising approach to optimize both mechanical properties and corrosion resistance is the use of coating technologies. In this paper, shrouded plasma spray was used as a useful technology to produce low oxide containing titanium coatings. A solid shroud was used to plasma spray titanium coatings to reduce the oxide content. The titanium coatings were assessed by optical microscope, scanning electron microscopy and Vickers microhardness testing. The results showed that the shrouded titanium coatings exhibited an enhanced microstructure. The presence of the shroud and shroud gas flow led to a significant reduction in coating porosity because the reduction in air entrainment with the shroud resulted in better heating of the particles. The shrouded titanium coatings had a lower value of Vickers microhardness and a relative lower standard deviation than the air plasma sprayed titanium coatings

Plasma sprayed titanium coatings with/without a shroud

Abstract: Titanium coatings were deposited by plasma spraying with and without a shroud. The titanium coatings were then assessed by scanning electron microscopy. A comparison in microstructure between titanium coatings with and without the shroud was carried out. The results showed that the shroud played an important role in protecting the titanium particles from oxidation. The presence of the shroud led to a reduction in coating porosity. The reduction in air entrainment with t he shroud resulted in better heating of the particles, and an enhanced microstructure with lower porosity in the shrouded titanium coatings were observed compared to the air plasma sprayed counterpart