Effects of mercury on thermally sprayed aluminum coatings

The quantification of liquid metal embrittling effects of mercury on thermally sprayed aluminum was investigated. The program consisted of heat treatments at 250 and 300 C of thermally sprayed (aluminum on lead) cylinders with mercury additions of 0.25, 0.50, 1.00, and 3.00 wt.%. The cylinders were then tested to determine the adhesion/cohesion strength of the thermally sprayed bond. The Pb/Al interfaces were evaluated using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The results of the testing indicate that there was no noticeable embrittling effects of the mercury, up to 3.0 wt.% Hg in the Pb matrix