Effect of powder particle size on vibration damping behaviour of plasma sprayed alumina (Al2O3) coating on AISI 304 stainless steel substrate

The damping capacity of plasma sprayed alumina (Al2O3) coatings on AISI 304 stainless steel was investigated in this study as a function of particle size of the starting alumina powder. The coatings were prepared from different sizes alumina powder using commercial air plasma spraying (APS) technique. The damping properties of coated samples were characterized by damping capacity (Q−1) measured experimentally using dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA). The surface morphology of the coatings was studied using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results revealed that the coating was porous and was able to improve the damping capacity of bare substrate. It was also observed that the powder particle size had a significant effect on the damping characteristics of the coatings. The damping values were found to be increased with the increase in particle size in the measured strain range. This behaviour was correlated with the microstructure investigated by SEM.