Influence of Ni Content on Microstructure and Hardness of Nickel-Graphite Abradable Seal Coatings Produced by Plasma Spraying

The influence of the initial shape of graphite powder and Ni content on the structure and properties of the nickel-graphite powders and plasma-sprayed coatings is investigated. The irregularly and spherically shaped graphite powders were produced by mechanical crushing and mechanical crushing with rolling, respectively. It is shown, that spherically shaped graphite powder has advantages in flowability and better deposition of Ni layer. The nickel-graphite core-shell powders with 50 and 75 wt.% Ni content were used to deposit coatings by plasma spraying. The composition, structure, and hardness of the nickel-graphite coatings were studied.