Optimization of electrical parameters for micro-arc oxidation of zirconium hydride alloy

The present work aims to present the micro-arc oxidation (MAO) zirconia coating with superior compactness and moderate thickness on zirconium hydride. The experiments were designed according to L16 (4(4)) orthogonal array to optimize electrical parameters (frequency, negative voltage, positive voltage and MAO time), with four levels of each factor. The optimized value was predicted and verified by the confirmation experiment. The anti-permeation effect was tested by means of vacuum dehydrogenation experiment. The optimized coating parameters are listed as follows: treating time of 25 min, frequency of 200 Hz, negative voltage of 150 V and positive voltage of 380 V. Experimental results show that the optimized coating exhibits the highest compactness of 0.3705 mg center dot mu m(-1). This dense coating significantly enhances the hydrogen anti-permeation effects, and the PRF value is improved by nearly 13 times in contrast with that of uncoated ZrH1.8.