Fe-based metallic glass coatings produced by smart plasma spraying process

Metallic glass has excellent functions such as high toughness and corrosion resistance. Therefore it is one of the most attractive materials, and many researchers have conducted various developmental research works. However, the metallic glass material is expensive and a composite material is preferred for the industrial application. Thermal spraying method is a potential candidate to produce metallic glass composites. The gas tunnel type plasma system is useful for smart plasma processing to obtain high quality ceramic coatings such as alumina (Al2O3) and zirconia (ZrO2) coatings. Also, the gas tunnel type plasma spraying can produce metallic glass coatings. In this study, the Fe-based metallic glass coatings were produced by gas tunnel type plasma spraying, and the microstructure and some properties were investigated. The amorphous phase of this metallic glass coating was confirmed by the XRD method. The Fe-based metallic glass coatings of about 200 [mu m in thickness were dense with a Vickers hardness of about Hv = 1100 at plasma current of 300 A. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.