Electrochemical Processing of Reaction-bonded Ceramic Composite Coatings

Ceramic matrix composite coatings are currently of much interest for application in high-temperature and highly corrosive environments. Formation of ceramic coatings by electrochemical processing is a relatively new mean^1-2]. It presents several advantages over alternative coating techniques, the thickness and morphology of the deposit can be controlled by the electrochemical parameters, relatively uniform deposits are obtainable on complex shapes, the deposition rate is higher than that using most other methods and the equipment required is of low cost Recently we developed a novel fabrication technique for the production of ceramic/ceramic and ceramic/metal composite coatings by electrochemical processing^3]. The technique combined two electrochemical deposition methods, electrophoretic deposition (EPD) and electrolytic deposition (ELD), which can produce uniform composite layers of closely controlled thickness on both metallic and ceramic substrates at ambient temperature with inexpensive equipment. However, the main problem associated with electrochemical processing is the difficulty in sintering of the coatings. First, high temperature is required for sintering of the coatings. Secondly, the volume shrinkage of the coatings during sintering leads to the formation of cracks in coatings bonded to metal substrates. So a reaction forming technique, reaction bonding process, also has been developed to produce near net-shape ceramic coatings, which overcome problems caused by the shrinkage of ceramics during sintering.