Influence of LPPS Spraying Parameters on Deposition Efficiency of Zirconia Powder

Yttria stabilized zirconia coating is an attractive material for several engineering applications. In order to produce coatings with consistent and reliable performance it is important to understand the influence of spraying parameters on the coating properties and optimize the spraying parameters. In this paper the low pressure plasma spray(LPPS) deposition of as-received zirconia powder has been investigated using simple one-factor-at-a-time approach. The deposition efficiency was chosen to evaluate the melting characteristics of the as-received zirconia powder. The results obtained indicated that the deposition efficiency of zirconia powder is very sensitive to the spraying parameters such as plasma gas flow rate and ranges from 24% to 57% The microstructure and the phase composition of zirconia coating deposited with the different plasma spraying parameters were also examined by SEM and XRD respectively. The relationship between deposition efficiency and the microstructure of zirconia coating was discussed.