Modelling the Damage Tolerance of Ceramic Thermal Sprayed Coatings

An approach of using multiscale material models to design ceramic coatings with increased damage tolerance is presented and compared to experimental test results. A model was created and based on real plasma sprayed Cr₂O₃-TiO₂ coating microstructure and its phase specific mechanical properties. This model was then semi-synthetically modified to include lamellar shaped metallic inclusions (different metals with different amounts and size distributions) aiming to increase the ductility without losing the impact or abrasive wear resistance. Based on the simulation results powders with different amounts of metallic inclusions were manufactured by spray-drying, deposited and experimentally tested. Increased ductility was observed without the reduction of hardness or abrasive wear resistance.