Friction and Wear Properties of Plasma Sprayed YSZ/Ni-Cr-Al Coated 6063-T6 Aluminum Alloy

In this study T6 heat treated 6063 aluminum alloys were used as substrate material. In order to form a bond between the substrate and the main coating, all samples were coated with Ni-Cr-Al powders. 8 wt% Yttria Stabilized Zirconia powders (YSZ) were coated with plasma spray technique. Thickness of YSZ was 150 m and bond coating was 36 m. XRD and SEM-EDS analyses were performed to characterize the coating layers. These YSZ coated and uncoated samples were subjected to wear testing under different spindle speed, loading and working distance. Wear test results were compared with the kinetic friction coefficients and weight loss values. Wear marks on YSZ coated and uncoated samples were investigated by SEM analysis. By coating with plasma spray technique, the wear resistance of Al alloys was increased without changing the friction coefficient. It was found that spindle speed had significant effect over the wear properties than the load applied. By YSZ coating, wear properties were increased 10 times.