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Optical Coherence Tomography for the Inspection of Plasma-Sprayed Ceramic Coatings

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Abstract

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is evaluated as a potential technique for microstructure characterization of plasma-sprayed ceramic coatings. OCT combines the principles of low-coherence interferometry and optical heterodyne detection to obtain both a high axial resolution and a high sensitivity to weakly backscattered light. It can be used to accurately locate interfaces where the refractive index changes abruptly within translucent materials. Therefore, OCT should be sensitive to interlamellar pores and splat interfaces within plasma-sprayed ceramic coatings. In the present work, OCT cross-sectional images of thin yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) coatings are considered. The interferogram envelopes forming the collected images are analyzed individually to successfully gather information related to light attenuation inside the coatings. This light attenuation is shown to be related to the density of interfaces within the coatings as well as to the material oxidation state. The envelope analysis also allows the evaluation of the refractive index of the YSZ nontransformable tetragonal phase.

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Acknowledgments

The financial support by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the National Research Council Canada (NRC), and the Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies (FQRNT), is gratefully acknowledged. The authors also appreciate helpful technical support of Bruno Gauthier and Sylvain Bélanger and fruitful discussions with Guy Lamouche.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Sherbrooke, 2500, de l’Université Blvd., Sherbrooke, QC, Canada, J1K 2R1

    J. Veilleux & M. Boulos

  2. Industrial Materials Institute, National Research Council Canada, 75, de Mortagne, Boucherville, QC, Canada, J4B 6Y4

    C. Moreau, D. Lévesque & M. Dufour

Authors
  1. J. Veilleux
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  2. C. Moreau
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  3. D. Lévesque
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  4. M. Dufour
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  5. M. Boulos
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. Moreau.

Additional information

This article was originally published in Building on 100 Years of Success, Proceedings of the 2006 International Thermal Spray Conference, Seattle, Washington, May 15-18, 2006, Basil R. Marple, Margaret M. Hyland, Yuk-Chiu Lau, Rogerio S. Lima, and Joël Voyer, Ed., ASM International, Materials Park, 2006.

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Veilleux, J., Moreau, C., Lévesque, D. et al. Optical Coherence Tomography for the Inspection of Plasma-Sprayed Ceramic Coatings. J Therm Spray Tech 16, 435–443 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-007-9051-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-007-9051-6

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