Mechanical and tribological performance of coated ceramic tiles with alumina by thermal spraying process

Abstract

Mechanical and tribological performance of red clay ceramic tiles uncoated and coated by oxy-fuel thermal spraying process from α-Al2O3 powder was evaluated. The ceramic tile substrates were manufactured by uniaxial pressing at 30 bar pressure, and sintered at 1100°C, while alumina Sulzer-Metco 105SPFTM was used as feedstock powder to elaborate coatings with three different thicknesses. Both, the bending and the deep abrasion resistances were evaluated according to ISO 10545-4 e ISO 10545-6 standards respectively. The results obtained indicate that the deep abrasion in the ceramic tiles decreases when the thickness of alumina coating increases. On the other hand, the bending resistance of ceramic tiles coated increased between 5 and 49% regarding to those uncoated. These results contribute to the development of ceramic products with high value added, which can be used in various technological applications.