Quantification and Taxonomy of Pores in Thermal Spray Coatings by Image Analysis and Stereology Approach

Porosity is one of the most important microstructural features in thermal spray coatings and has been actively studied and measured by many methods. Image analysis techniques have become popular techniques in determining porosity in coatings because of simplicity, accessibility, and an ability to measure both open and closed porosities as well as pore characteristics such as size, shape, orientation, and spatial distribution. In the current study, an image analysis technique has been complemented by several stereology procedures to determine the porosity level and characteristics of pores within coatings. Stereology protocols such as Delesse, DeHoff, and Cruz-Orive analyses were used to derive the porosity level, pore size, and shape distributions, and the effectiveness of each stereology protocol was compared. Standoff distance (SOD) and annealing process did not alter the distribution trend of number of pores but influenced the distribution of pore volume fractions significantly. The bivariate size–shape distribution of the pores was used to predict the dominant pore type and fractions of pores that arose from different formation mechanisms. It was found that nearly spherical pores that originated from gas bubbles and entrapped gas pockets dominate at shorter SOD, while the different types of pores become more evenly distributed when the SOD was increased.