Abstract
Electrical insulation and mechanical properties of the plasma sprayed oxide ceramic coatings were studied before and after the sealing treatment of the ceramic coatings. Plasma sprayed A1$_2$O$_3$-TiO$_2$ coating as the reference coating was sealed using three commercial sealants based on polymer. Penetration depth of the sealants to the ceramic coating was evaluated directly from the optical microscope using a fluorescent dye. It is estimated that the penetration depth of the sealants to the ceramic coating is from 0.2 to 0.5 mm depending on the sealants used. The preliminary test results with a DC puncture tester imply that the dielectric breakdown voltage mechanism of plasma sprayed ceramic coatings has been determined to be a corona mechanism. Dielectric breakdown voltage of the as-sprayed and as-ground samples have shown a linear trend with regard to the thickness showing an average dielectric strength of 20 kV/mm for the thickness scale studied. It is also shown that grinding the coating before sealing and adding fluorescent dye do not agent the penetration depth of sealants. All of the microhardness, two-body abrasive wear resistance, bond strength, and surface roughness of the ceramic coating after the sealing treatment are improved. The extent of improvement is different from the sealants used. However, three-point bending stress of the ceramic coating after the sealing treatment is decreased. This is attributed to the reduced micro-crack toughening effect since the cracks propagate easily through the lamellar of the coating without crack deflection and/or branching after the sealing treatment.