Characterization of tribological properties of plasma sprayed ceramic coatings

The paper presents some experimental researches of main structural and tribological characteristics of various zirconia based composite coatings produced by atmospheric plasma spray technique. The effect of alumina addition up to 85 wt% on the microstructure of yttria stabilized zirconia (5.3 wt%) coatings was investigated by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The correlation between microstructure, microhardness and roughness of plasma sprayed composite coatings was investigated. Surface profilometer was used to evaluate the coating quality. Wear resistance test was performed to estimate the tribological properties of zirconia-alumina coatings deposited on metallic substrates. The main parameters were related with the composition of sprayed ceramics.