In thermal spraying, adhesive bond strength is a feature of surface properties. An adapted surface is studied with prior-surface treatments to enhance interface energy. This study deals with Ni-Al coatings on 2017 aluminum alloy substrate produced by atmospheric plasma spraying. The adherence was evaluated with several controlled surface topographies obtained by grit-blasting and laser surface texturing technique. Adherence has been tested with two different techniques: pull-off test and LASer Adhesion Test. They induce different stresses at the interface. The results showed that the adhesive strength is mostly controlled by a contact adhesion area. A large contact area increases the energy release rate at the interface during coating failures. The bond strength tendency for the two adherence tests is similar: apparent adherence is tripled thanks to laser surface patterning. Fracture propagation is stopped nearby laser-induced holes due to the complex shape and has to deviate inside the coating to maintain crack propagation (inter-splat cracks). The energy at the interfaces being stored locally due to pattern: pattern morphology, pattern localization and powder feed rate are important factors that control the adhesion strength of the thermally sprayed coatings.
Coating characteristics are highly dependent on substrate preparation and spray parameters. Hence, the surface must be adapted mechanically and physicochemically to favor coating--substrate adhesion. Conventional surface preparation methods such as grit blasting are limited by surface embrittlement and produce large plastic deformations throughout the surface, resulting in compressive stress and potential cracks. Among all such methods, laser patterning is suitable to prepare the surface of sensitive materials. No embedded grit particles can be observed, and high-quality coatings are obtained. Finally, laser surface patterning adapts the impacted surface, creating large anchoring area. Optimized surface topographies can then be elaborated according to the material as well as the application. The objective of this study is to compare the adhesive bond strength between two surface preparation methods, namely grit blasting and laser surface patterning, for two material couples used in aerospace applications: 2017 aluminum alloy and AISI 304L stainless steel coated with NiAl and YSZ, respectively. Laser patterning significantly increases adherence values for similar contact area due to mixed-mode (cohesive and adhesive) failure. The coating is locked in the pattern.
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