Characterizations of plasma sprayed composite coatings over 1020 mild steel

The present work deals with the coating of mild steel using plasma spray coating technique to improve surface properties for various industrial applications. Three different composite coating powders namely Al₂O₃ :TiO₂, Al₂O₃ : TiO₂ : CNT and Al₂O₃: CNT were coated on the surface of mild steel for a thickness of 0.25 mm. Subsequently, the coated samples were tested for their mechanical characteristics namely tensile, compression and hardness followed by tribological investigations primarily comprising of wear analysis. Further, metallurgical analysis engrossing the Scanning electron microscopy, X-Ray diffraction and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis were carried out to assess the homogeneity, spread uniformity and bond integrity of the developed samples. The test results revealed that the performance measure of Al₂O₃ :TiO₂ : CNT is way ahead than other two powder coatings while carbon nanotube majorly contributes to the strength and quality of the surface coating.