Abstract
In thermal spray processes fast gas flows are used to accelerate and melt the coating compound materials. The kinetic energy transferred to the particles by the gas flow depends on the velocity of the jet, which thus becomes an important parameter for coating formation. This paper describes a non-contact technique for measuring the drift velocity in those flows. This technique is based on the additional wavelength shift induced by the gas flow for non resonant light scattering. This shift of the order 1 pm is detected by an interferometer composed of two mechanical tilted plates, such that the wavelength of the scattered light can be easily obtained from the location of the maxima in the corresponding Airy profile paired with an MCP-CCD camera, to enhance sensitivity and processing speed. The experimental setup will be described and first results shown.
