Fast and Non-Destructive Mechanical Characterization of Coatings from Thermal Spraying and Laser Cladding: Automated Surface Acoustic Wave Spectroscopy as a New Tool for Quality Control and Research

Laser-induced surface acoustic wave spectroscopy (LISAWS) allows quick and non-destructive access to elastic properties such as the Young's Modulus of coatings, surfaces and surface-near bulk materials. Furthermore, the mechanical weakening due to cracks and pores can be evaluated, as they influence the propagation of surface waves as well. Therefore, the method is a quick and powerful tool for surface characterization and can be found today in research and development, quality control and as a precise reference method. The short measuring time of the LISAWS measurement allow the distribution of the effective Young's modulus over the coated surface to be determined with a high accuracy. For this purpose, a LISAWS measurement system was automated to allow for processing of a larger amount of samples and fast mappings. The investigated coating materials were thermally sprayed Al2O3 insulation coatings and WC-reinforced 316L steel coatings on brake discs produced by laser cladding. For the Al2O3 coatings, the correlation of the Young's modulus and its areal distribution is shown for different process parameters, such as spray gun movement direction or spraying distance, and compared with results from pull-off tests. For the WC/316L coated brake discs, the distribution of the wave velocity over the coated surfaces or the two coated sides of different discs with varying coating qualities is used to assess the coating quality and homogeneity.