Mechanical and chemical properties of plasma sprayed bronze CuAl10 coating on magnesium and magnesium alloy AZ91

Abstract

The most common magnesium alloy AZ91 is widely used as a structural material, but its use is limited at higher temperatures and high humidity. Plasma spraying is a technology that allows to prepare protective metallic and nonmetallic coatings on a wide variety of substrates including magnesium and its alloys. In this study, CuAl10 was plasma sprayed on magnesium and magnesium alloy AZ91 with the aim to study corrosion resistance of the magnesium substrates. The work focuses on optimization of the plasma spraying process, on chemical composition of the coatings, on interface between the coating and substrate, as well as on adhesive strength of the coatings. The coating were deposited after two passes of the spraying torch resulting in thickness of 150 micro m on magnesium substrate and 110 micro m on AZ91 substrate. Chemical microanalysis showed that deposition of CuAl10 alloy on magnesium results in formation of an intermetallic layer at the interface. The layer provides