Porosity measurements in suspension plasma sprayed YSZ coatings

A large variety of coatings are used to protect structural engineering materials from corrosion, wear, and erosion, and to provide thermal insulation. In a new work, yttria-stabilized zirconia coatings produced by suspension plasma spraying were investigated with respect to their microstructure and especially their porosity, as the porosity affects the thermal insulation of the underlying component.

A large variety of pore sizes

To determine porosity, pore size distribution, and pore shape, the coatings were investigated using novel advanced characterisation techniques like NMR cryoporometry and X-ray microscopy. In general, the porosity is inhomogeneously distributed and the coatings showed a large variety of pore sizes ranging from a few nanometers to micrometers.

The study is published in: Journal of Coatings Technology and Research  July 2018, Volume 15, Issue 4, pp 753–757.