Ni-10 wt-%Al composite powders, as a self-bonding spray material, were prepared by low energy mechanical milling process and then sprayed by plasma and flame spray techniques. The phase identification, microstructure, hardness and adhesion strength of the coatings were investigated by X-ray diffraction, SEM, ASTM E384-99 and ASTM C633-01 respectively. The size and microstructure of powder particles are two important parameters for thermal spraying. Morphological and microstructural investigation of the Ni-10 wt-%Al powders showed that the powder particles after 23 h of milling time had the optimum properties with respect to their size and microstructure. X-ray diffraction patterns of powder particles included only the elemental Ni and Al peaks without any traces of oxides or intermetallics phases. Powder particles produced by mechanical milling had a fine lamellar structure consisting of pure Al and Ni layers. This structure encourages the Ni/Al exothermic reaction during flight in plasma spraying. The adhesive tests also showed that the plasma and flame failure were cohesive, that is, within the coating itself, because adhesive on steel in both coatings is much higher than cohesive.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.