Characterization of Plasma Sprayed 87%Al2O3–13%TiO2 and 88%WC–12%Co Coatings on ASTM A36 Steel

Plasma spray technique is utilized to cover the Induced Draft (ID) fans with 88%WC–12%Co (wt%) powder and 87%Al2O3–13%TiO2 (wt%) powder. The material of ID fan was ASTM A36 steel (IS2062) grade. The main focus of recent study was to investigate the influence of nature and characteristics (mainly hardness, coating thickness, bond strength, and porosity). Two coating powders with dissimilar particle size and their distribution, shape, and density were sprayed by similar parameters of plasma spraying conditions. The morphology of both the coatings was investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy, which exhibits the sub-micro and micro-sized structure, with same thickness and porosity. Very intense and consistent was obtained and the variation in precursor size does not affect the coating structure.