Residual stresses in coating technology

International audienceResidual stress in coatings is the result of individual particle stress. Their effects may be either beneficial or detrimental, depending upon the magnitude, sign and distribution of the stresses with respect to the external load. Tensile stress which exceeds the elastic limit causes cracking in surface coatings or at the interface between the substrate and the coat. Compressive stress, in general, has a beneficial effect on the fatigue life, crack propagation, coating adhesion and on the durability of the top coat during service. Compressive residual stresses can increase the number of cycles before crack initiation begins through a mean stress effect. Temperature gradients which occur during solidification and subsequent cooling are the principal mode of internal stresses generation. Some parameters influence the residual stress field of both the coating and the substrate. Substrate nature, spraying temperature, thickness of the coat layer, substrate preparation (grit blasting conditions), and velocity of the splats are in the relation with the quality of the coating. In this work, we will describe the role playing by the ceramics coating elaboration on the residual stress gradient in depth of the component. The incremental hole drilling technique has been developed to determine the residual stress gradient in depth of the coat and substrate which must be used with particularly conditions. This new technology has been employed on zirconia, alumina and tungsten carbide plasma sprayed coating