An ultrasonic testing method for detecting delamination of sprayed ceramic coating

The adhesion strength of thermal sprayed coatings is relatively low, and they sometimes tend to delaminate from the substrate during operation. In particular, sprayed ceramic coatings for thermal barriers, such as ZrO₂, often delaminate because of thermal shock; therefore, ceramic coatings are often submitted to thermal shock tests. A nondestructive inspection method using ultrasound to detect the delamination of sprayed coating was proposed. In this study, a coating model was made with acrylic plates, and an ultrasonic test was applied to investigate the precision of detecting delamination by the ultrasonic testing method. Results indicate that delamination more than 1mm in diameter can be detected by the ultrasonic testing method. Moreover, the delaminating process of sprayed coatings under thermal shock tests can be detected by this method.