The Interaction between Particles and a Plasma Beam in the Thermal Projection Process

Abstract

Plasma spray processes have been widely used to produce high performance coatings of a wide range of Materials (metallic, non-metallic, ceramics), offering protection from, eg. wear, extreme temperature, chemical attack and environmental corrosion. To obtain good quality coatings, spray parameters must be carefully selected. Due to the large variety in process parameters, it is difficult to optimize the process for each specific coating and substrate combinations. Furthermore modelling the spray process allows a better understanding of the process sequences during thermal spraying. Good agreement of the virtual spraying process with the real coating formation is achieved by modelling the particular process steps. The simulation of coating formation to estimate the process parameters is an important tool to develop new coating structures with defined properties. In this work, the process of plasma sprayed coating has been analyzed by numerical simulation. Commercial code is used to predict the plasma jet characteristics, plasma –particle interaction, and coating formation. Using this model we can obtain coating microstructure and characteristics which form a foundation for further improvement of an advanced ceramic coating build up model.