Splat morphology of plasma sprayed aluminum oxide reinforced with carbon nanotubes: A comparison between experiments and simulation

► Role of carbon nanotube (CNT) on splat formation in plasma sprayed aluminum oxide (Al2O3) composite coating. ► Comparison between experimentally and simulated single splat of Al2O3-CNT. ► CNT addition resulted in more disk-shaped splat with an increasing diameter and lower splashing. ► Increased heat content and increased viscosity of the melt were observed with CNT additions. ► Simulated splat morphology showed a good agreement with the experimentally obtained splats.