Effect of laser melting on plasma-sprayed aluminum oxide coatings reinforced with carbon nanotubes

The effect of laser melting on the microstructure and mechanical properties of plasma-sprayed aluminum oxide composite coating reinforced with 4 wt% multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is reported. Laser-melted layer consists of dense, coarse columnar microstructure which is significantly different from plasma-sprayed coating that consists of splats and porosity. CNTs retained their original cylindrical graphitic structure after undergoing laser irradiation. Three dimensional heat flow model has been developed to estimate temperature variation in the laser-melted composite layer. Laser-melted layers show an increase in the microhardness at the expanse of degradation of fracture toughness. Nanoindentation study indicates an increase in the elastic modulus and yield strength of the laser-melted layer which is attributed to dense microstructure with absence of weak-bonding splats and porosity.