Investigation of particle flattening behaviour and bonding mechanisms of APS sprayed coatings on magnesium alloys

Magnesium alloys are promising alternatives to other lightweight materials due to their high specific strength and stiffness. However, the use of magnesium alloys is limited by their poor wear behaviour and low corrosion resistance for many industrial applications. The thermal spray technology offers a wide range of possibilities to improve the surface properties of Mg-based components. In this study, three different coating materials, namely Al, NiAl5 and Al2O3, were applied on AZ91 and AE42 substrates using the atmospheric plasma spray technology. The investigation was focused on the bonding strength of the coatings and the related bonding mechanisms. For a better understanding of the bonding mechanisms, the flattening behaviour of the spray particles was investigated in correlation with the substrate pre-heating temperature. It was found that NiAl5-particles could well melt the substrate at the surface and deformed it locally; Al-particles did the same but to a lower extent. The dominating bonding mechanism for NiAl5-coatings could be attributed to a metallurgical bonding. For Al-coatings, this mechanism played a more important role once the substrate pre-heating temperature was increased. Al2O3 particles in contrast, were less able to deform the substrate in spite of their higher thermal load and the mechanical anchoring remained the main bonding mechanism. The thermo physical properties of the Mg substrate showed also to have an influence on the adhesion of the coatings.