Mechanical and physical properties of high-velocity oxy-fuel-sprayed iron aluminide coatings

Tensile tests and thermal-expansion measurements were performed on free-standing, high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF)-sprayed Fe₃Al coatings produced at spray-particle velocities of 390, 560, and 620 m/s. To examine the relationship between properties and spray conditions, the microstructures of the coatings were characterized in terms of the fractions of unmelted particles, porosity, and oxide inclusions, as well as the dislocation density assessed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) line-broadening analysis. Residual coating stresses were determined as a function of coating thickness using curvature measurements. The tensile behavior was entirely brittle at room temperature; fracture strengths increased with spray-particle velocity; and the increase in fracture-strength results from decreasing fractions of microstructural defects and better interparticle bonding. The mean thermal-expansion coefficients for the coatings were lower than those for an equivalent wrought material; the differences were attributed to a 7 to 15 vol pet fraction of oxide inclusions.