Wear characteristics of plasma-sprayed nanostructured yttria partially stabilized zirconia coatings

Reconstituted nanostructured and conventional yttria partially stabilized zirconia coatings were deposited by atmospheric plasma spray. The tribologic properties of the coatings against 100C6 steel were evaluated with a ball-on-disc configuration under dry friction conditions at room temperature. Microstructure and the phase composition of the powders and the coatings were examined using a scanning electron microscope, optical microscope, and x-ray diffraction. Microhardness and the Young’s modulus of coatings were measured by indentation testing. Results showed that the wear resistance of the coatings produced using the nanostructured powder is improved compared with the coating produced using the conventional powder. The wear rates of nanostructured zirconia coatings are about four-fifths of those of conventional counterparts under a load of 5 N. The wear mechanism is also discussed. The original version of this paper was published as part of the DVS Proceedings: “Thermal Spray Solutions: Advances in Technology and Application,” International Thermal Spray Conference, Osaka, Japan, 10–12 May 2004, CD-Rom, DVS-Verlag GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany.