• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.226-237
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• 2011

W-ZrC and W-HfC composite powders were fabricated by the Plasma Alloying & Spheroidization (PAS) method and the powders were sprayed into hybrid coating layers by using Low Vacuum Plasma Spray (LVPS) process, respectively. Microstructure, mechanical properties, and ablation characteristics of the fabricated coating layers were investigated. The LVPS process led to successful production of W-Carbide hybrid coatings, approximately 400 ${\mu}M$ or above in thickness. As the substrate preheating temperature increased from $870^{\circ}C$ to $917^{\circ}C$, the hardness of the W-ZrC coating layer increased due to decreased porosity. Vickers hardness showed higher value (about 108.4 HV) in W-ZrC hybrid coating material compared to that of W-HfC while adhesive strength was found to be similar in both coating layers. The plasma torch test revealed good ablation resistance of the W-Carbide hybrid coating layers. The relatively high performance W-ZrC coating layer at the elevated temperature is thought to be attributed to both the strengthening effect of ZrC particle remained in the layer and the formation of ZrO2 phase with high temperature stability.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.106-110
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• 2011

A high thermal conductive AlN composite coating is attractive in thermal management applications. In this study, AlN-YAG composite coatings were manufactured by atmospheric plasma spraying from two different powders: spray-dried and plasma-treated. The mixture of both AlN and YAG was first mechanically alloyed and then spray-dried to obtain an agglomerated powder. The spray-dried powder was primarily spherical in shape and composed of an agglomerate of primary particles. The decomposition of AlN was pronounced at elevated temperatures due to the porous nature of the spray-dried powder, and was completely eliminated in nitrogen environment. A highly spherical, dense AlN-YAG composite powder was synthesized by plasma alloying and spheroidization (PAS) in an inert gas environment. The AlN-YAG coatings consisted of irregular-shaped, crystalline AlN particles embedded in amorphous YAG phase, indicating solid deposition of AlN and liquid deposition of YAG. The PAS-processed powder produced a lower-porosity and higher-hardness AlN-YAG coating due to a greater degree of melting in the plasma jet, compared to that of the spray-dried powder. The amorphization of the YAG matrix was evidence of melting degree of feedstock powder in flight because a fully molten YAG droplet formed an amorphous phase during splat quenching.