Characterization of Wear Properties of Plasma Sprayed Ceramic Coatings

The paper presents experimental results of the structural and tribological characteristics of various zirconia and alumina based ceramic coatings. Ceramic coatings with the thickness up to 60 mum were prepared by plasma-spray technique on the titanium steel substrates employing non-equilibrium plasma spray technology at atmospheric pressure. The effect of alumina addition up to 85 wt.% on the morphology and wear behavior of yttria stabilized zirconia coatings was investigated. The hardness and tribological characteristics of plasma deposited ceramic coatings have been determined in relation with the microstructure of the coatings. The wear properties of sprayed ceramic samples were investigated under water lubricated conditions.