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Impact of Density on the Behavior of Suspension Plasma-Sprayed TiB2 Coatings in the Presence of Molten Aluminum

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Abstract

TiB2-coated graphite substrates are potential wettable cathodes for aluminum electrolysis. However, their properties must be improved to prevent the infiltration of molten aluminum into the coating, which can result in delamination of the coating. Here, a suspension plasma spray process was used to deposit TiB2 coatings (60-110 µm thick) on graphite substrate. The coating’s porosity can be controlled through the SPS deposition parameters, resulting in a porosity range between 4 and 25%. A double-layered TiB2 coating was also prepared, consisting of a denser top layer (4% porous, 40 µm thick) and a porous bottom layer (19% porous, 65 µm thick). No cracks were observed in the as-sprayed porous and double-layered coatings, in contrast to the denser single-layer (5% porosity) coating. Sessile Al drop tests were performed on TiB2 coatings to investigate their behavior in contact with molten aluminum. It was shown that the coating porosity impacts the spreading kinetics of Al drop, and all TiB2 coatings have a much better molten aluminum wettability than the graphite substrate. Moreover, after 8 h of contact with molten Al, no Al infiltration nor coating delamination was observed in the double-layered TiB2 coating, in contrast to single-layer coatings.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) through the Strategic Program (STPGP/494283-2016), Prima Québec (Grant R13-13-001), Metal7 and Kingston Process Metallurgy for supporting this work. Saeed Mohammadkhani acknowledges the support of the UNESCO Chair Materials for Energy Conversion, Saving and Storage (MATECSS) Excellence Scholarship. The authors also thank R. Schulz from Hydro-Québec's Research Institute (IREQ) for the free use of their experimental setup for sessile drop tests.

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Author notes

  1. S. Mohammadkhani and A. Bily have contributed equally.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRS-Énergie, Matériaux, Télécommunications, 1650 Lionel Boulet Boulevard, Varennes, QC, J3X 1S2, Canada

    S. Mohammadkhani, L. Roué & D. Guay

  2. Department of Mechanical, Industrial & Aerospace Engineering, Concordia University, 1455 Maisonneuve Blvd W, Montreal, QC, H3G 1M8, Canada

    A. Bily, A. Dolatabadi & C. Moreau

  3. Kingston Process Metallurgy Inc, 759 Progress Avenue, Kingston, ON, K7M 6N6, Canada

    B. Davis

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  1. S. Mohammadkhani
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Correspondence to C. Moreau or D. Guay.

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Mohammadkhani, S., Bily, A., Davis, B. et al. Impact of Density on the Behavior of Suspension Plasma-Sprayed TiB2 Coatings in the Presence of Molten Aluminum. J Therm Spray Tech 31, 1499–1507 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-022-01370-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-022-01370-8

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