Nanomechanical behaviour of plasma sprayed PZT coatings

AbstractNanomechanical properties of the plasma sprayed lead zirconate titanate (PZT) coating have been investigated using nanoindentation technique. PZT coating processed at higher plasma power of 32 kW exhibited lower elastic modulus E of 98 GPa compared with the modulus (113 GPa) of the coating processed at plasma power of 20 kW. The variation in the elastic modulus is attributed to the fine porosity of the PZT coating, which is formed during plasma spraying. Porosity increases by evaporation of PbO phase during plasma spraying. Overall effective elastic modulus of both coatings is computed using micromechanics models and compared with the experimentally obtained values. Hashin–Shtrikman and rule of mixtures models predict values that closely match with nanoindentation values.