Influence of Ceramic Coating on Mechanical Properties of Stainless Steel

Crystal structure and phase composition of stainless steel substrates (AISI 304 type) was studied and it was found that they adopted the cubic symmetry. The calculated elementary cell parameter for the mayor Fe-Ni phase (weight fraction 99%) was a = 3.593 Å, whereas the mean grain size was = 2932 Å. Morphology of the stainless steel substrate surface was studied with profilometry. Mechanical properties of the stainless steel substrates and stainless steel substrates coated with ceramic layer of barium strontium titanate were studied with microhardness tester. For measurements performed according to the Vickers method the average microhardness was found HV = 189 or HV = 186 for the “in-line” and “mapping” measurement pattern, respectively. The sol-gel method was used to coat the surface of the stainless steel substrate with a thin ceramic layer of the chemical composition Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3. It was found that the stainless steel substrate covered with sol-gel deposited ceramic coating exhibited the average hardness within the range HV = 217 up to HV = 235 for loading force F = 98 mN and F = 0.98 N, respectively. The Knopp method was also used and it was found that the stainless steel substrate with Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 coating exhibited hardness HK = 386.