PHYSICAL STUDIES ON ELECTROLESS NI-YSZ COMPOSITE COATING

ABSTRACT The paper discussed on the physical properties of the electroless Ni-YSZ composite coating. The main properties of concern are the ceramic YSZ to metallic Ni ratio as well as the porosity content within the coating. The composition of YSZ in the composite coating is the reinforcement for the composite coating. The composition was measured via SEM/EDXA and matrix digestion method (ASTM D3171). The amount of porosity in the composite coating was measured using Archimedes density (ASTM D792). Three batches of sample were compared with various types of pore former namely activated carbon, graphite and starch. Nanoindentation was carried out to determine the hardness of the composite coating between the three batches of samples. The SEM micrographs of Ni-YSZ composite coating for the three batches at 5k magnifications coupled with EDX analysis was discussed together with the XRD analysis