Effect of Heat Treatment on the Microstructure of Plasma Spray SUS316L Stainless Steel Coating

Abstract

A study of the effects of heat treatments of plasma sprayed SUS316L stainless steel coatings was performed. The stainless steel coatings were treated at the conditions of 1273 K and 1373 K for 45 minutes in flowing argon. The effectiveness of the heat treatment was determined using an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA). The results indicated that the heat treatments were able to significantly affect the composition and the microstructure. After the heat treatment, the interconnected micro-pores were found to appear in the large-scale rod-like oxide in the coating and the content of chromium and manganese in the oxides became higher than that in the as-sprayed coating. The heat-treatment became more effective with increasing temperature.