Plasma spray deposition on inclined substrates: Simulations and experiments

In the plasma spray coating process, the coating's profile and overall thickness are dependent on the number of overlapping traverses of the torch, the shape of the particle spray plume, the spatial distribution of the in-flight parameters of the particles within, and the orientation of the substrate. In this paper, a semi-empirical methodology for predicting three-dimensional deposits by the plasma spray process is developed. It comprises of three stages: first, spatial distributions of the in-flight parameters of multi-sized particles within the spray plume are determined by Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations. The size and shape parameters of the splats formed when individual droplets impact and spread out are obtained by experiments. Finally, a computer program is developed to integrate the particle parameters distribution and the empirical splat geometric data to generate a three-dimensional profile representing the deposit. The procedures predict the deposition volumes and thicknesses for different substrate inclinations with good agreement to experimentally sprayed deposits. © ASM International 2007.