Effect of spraying power on microstructure and bonding strength of MoSi2-based coatings prepared by supersonic plasma spraying

MoSi2-based oxidation protective coatings for SiC-coated carbon/carbon composites were prepared using a supersonic plasma spraying at the power of 40 kW, 45 kW, 50 kW and 55 kW, respectively. Effect of spraying power on the microstructure and bonding strength of MoSi2-based coatings was studied. The results show that coatings become more and more compact and the bonding strength increases when the spraying power increases from 40 kW to 50 kW. At the power of 50 kW, the coatings were dense and the bonding strength reached a maximum value of 14.5 MPa. As the spraying power is of sufficient magnitude, many cracks and pores reappaer in coatings and the bonding strength between coating and substrate also decreases.