Structure and mechanical properties of plasma sprayed nanostructured alumina and FeCuAl-alumina cermet coatings

Nanostructured alumina (Al₂O₃) and nanostructured cermet coatings containing alumina dispersed in a FeCu or FeCuAl matrix, were deposited by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) from nanostructured powders. These coatings were characterized by SEM, EDAX, TEM, XRD and nanoindentation. Friction and wear behaviour were investigated by sliding and abrasion tests. TEM and XRD revealed that a nanostructuring was retained in the APS deposited coatings.The nanostructured ceramic and cermet coatings were compared in terms of coefficient of friction and wear resistance. Nanostructured cermet coatings appeared to offer a better wear resistance under sliding and abrasion tests than nanostructured Al₂O₃ coatings. The role of Fe, Cu, and Al additions to the Al₂O₃ coatings on friction and wear behaviour, was investigated.In the case of FeCu- and FeCuAl-based cermet coatings containing alumina, though the starting material consist of only two compounds, the coatings contain up to four different phases after plasma spraying. The mechanical properties of these different phases namely crack sensitivity and elasto-plastic deformation was determined by nanoindentation. The failure mechanisms were investigated and an attempt was made to establish a ‘structure-property’ relationship. It was shown that an appropriate balance between hard and soft phases results in optimum tribological properties of the nanostructured cermet coatings.