Abstract
Suspension plasma spraying is gaining greater interest for emerging applications such as new thermal barrier coatings, next generation environmental barrier coatings and ceramic membranes as in solid oxide fuel cells. Mettech developed an axial injection plasma process coupled with an automatic suspension feed system, and demonstrated its capability to overcome the complexities of the process and deliver quality coatings. This paper aims at determining the durability and stability of the gun, suspension feeder and their components. A 120-hour duration test was performed, and the plasma torch and suspension feed parameters and performances were recorded. The test results indicate that the equipment and process are stable and reliable, and ready for industrial applications.