TRIBOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF PLASMA SPRAYED Al2O3-13TiO2 NANOSTRUCTURED COATINGS
Ceramic materials are widely used in various industrial applications on components exposed to high temperature, wear, and corrosive conditions. Nowadays, nanostructured materials are of particular scientific interest because of their physical and mechanical properties, which are superior to those of conventional materials. Plasma spraying is one of the surface engineering techniques for depositing of the coatings with wide variety of properties necessary for industrial use. The work is concerned with a study of the microstructure and tribological properties of plasma sprayed coatings with nanostructured and conventional Al2O3-13TiO2 powders. The coatings were sprayed by means of a Plancer PN-120 plasma system. A T-01 ball on disc tribological tester was used to study their coefficient of friction on the basis of the friction force obtained in the course of continuous measurement at a set load. Results of investigations were compared with properties of the coatings sprayed with standard Al2O3-13TiO2. The nanostructured Al2O3-13TiO2 coating showed the lower coefficient of friction in comparison to the coatings sprayed from the conventional powder.