Nanomechanical properties of hafnium nitride coating

Nanomechanical properties of plasma-sprayed HfN coating with and without hot isostatic pressing (HIP) treatment were evaluated using nanoindentation. For HIPed HfN coating, the elastic modulus (E) and yield strength increase whereas the hardness (H), H/E ratio and fraction of the elastic work decrease. HIPed HfN coating shows a larger pile-up around the indent as compared to as-sprayed HfN. HIPing causes densification and improvement in inter-splat bonding which subsequently lead to increase in nanomechanical properties.