The plasma-spray process features complex plasma-particle interactions that can result in process variations that limit process repeatability and coating performance. This paper reports our work on the development of real-time diagnostics and control for the plasma spray process. The strategy is to directly monitor and control those degrees of freedom of the process that are observable, controllable, and affect resulting coating properties. This includes monitoring of particle velocity and temperature as well as the shape and trajectory of the spray pattern. Diagnostics that have been developed specifically for this purpose and integrated with a closed loop process controller are described.

This paper investigates the advantages that an advanced control system can provide for plasma spray deposition in terms of variation reduction and greater ability to engineer coating structure. We report our work on implementing a feedback control system that automatically adjusts system inputs to maintain the desired particle states in spite of process variations. The limitations and performance capabilities of both feed forward and real-time control are evaluated. Important system characteristics needed to develop such controllers are discussed including dominant nonlinearalities, dynamics, cross-coupling, distributions, and sensor issues. Performance is evaluated in terms of engineering coating structure and production objectives.

An advanced closed loop control system that enables tight control of the particle and substrate states has been developed. This unique capability allows deposition of coatings under very controlled conditions. This enables the construction of detailed process/property maps that can lead to a fundamental understanding of the formation mechanisms of key microstructural features during the plasma deposition process. The microstructural development during processing is discussed in light of the physics of microcrack formation during plasma deposition, including the effect of particle and substrate states on splat solidification, thermal gradients and residual stresses.

Recently it has been suggested that the carrier gas jet interaction with the plasma can have a large effect on the resulting particle temperature. The postulated interaction is through deflection of the main plasma jet and by delaying the heating of particles by the formation of a "cold" gas bubble. We have examined the effect of the gas jet itself on the temperature of the particles by attempting to artificially form a cold gas bubble using a separate, closely oriented gas jet. The effect of the "twin" co-flowing jet was evaluated by measuring its effect on the mean and standard deviation of the particle injection velocity and the resulting spray pattern and particle temperature. Additionally we have used alternative carrier gases with similar density but with specific heats that are higher than argon by a factor of two. A measurable but minor effect on particle temperature is observed.

Thermally sprayed coating characteristics and mechanical properties are in part a result of the residual stress developed during the fabrication process. The total stress state in a coating/substrate is comprised of the quench stress and the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch stress. The quench stress is developed when molten particles impact the substrate and rapidly cool and solidify. The CTE mismatch stress results from a large difference in the thermal expansion coefficients of the coating and substrate material. It comes into effect when the substrate/coating combination cools from the equilibrated deposit temperature to room temperature. This paper describes a laser-based technique for measuring the curvature of a coated substrate and the analysis required to determine residual stress from curvature measurements. Quench stresses were determined by heating the specimen back to the deposit temperature thus removing the CTE mismatch stress. By subtracting the quench stress from the total residual stress at room temperature, the CTE mismatch stress was estimated. Residual stress measurements for thick (>1mm) spinel coatings with a Ni-Al bond coat on 304 stainless steel substrates were made. It was determined that a significant portion of the residual stress results from the quenching stress of the bond coat and that the spinel coating produces a larger CTE mismatch stress than quench stress.

Cold work and heat treatment influence the mechanical properties, residual stress-state, and corrosion resistance of austenitic stainless steels. In this study we have examined changes in the defect substructure and microstructure of Type 304 stainless steel resulting from surface preparation, and deposition of bond coats and thick ceramic coatings using plasma spray methods. The structure of the stainless steel was examined as a function of depth from the coating surface using optical and transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. Grit blasting was found to severely cold work the material to a depth of tens of microns, and the amount of cold work varied with measured abrasive particle velocity. The heat input to the surface as a result of depositing a metallic bond coat or thick ceramic coating resulted in substantial annealing of the cold work imparted into the substrate by surface preparation. There was, however, no evidence of change in grain size near the substrate-coating interface that could be attributed to recrystallization or grain growth in the substrate.

The high-velocity air-fuel process (HVAF) is an emerging technology used in the thermal spray industry. The Praxair HVAF process combines air and a liquid fuel (e.g., kerosene, diesel) to generate an energy source with extremely high gas velocities. Analytical studies were conducted to investigate gas and particle dynamics in the Praxair HVAF process for coating with WC-l2Co and stainless steel powders. The mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations were first solved, using the TORCH computer program. Typical output from the model includes temperature and velocity profiles as a function of radial and axial position. The PROCESS gas/particle computer program was then used to calculate from these temperature and velocity profiles the dynamics of particles injected into the gas plume. The primary result of the gas/particle code is a description of the injected particle temperature and velocity as a function of position in the plume. A thorough understanding of the process was obtained using this modeling technique. The results of the modeling were confirmed with process diagnostics. Particle temperature measurements for the WC-Co powder system were obtained with a two-color pyrometer; particle velocity measurements were obtained using particle imaging velocimetry. The coatings produced in the study exhibit superior quality, with high-density, high-hardness, low-oxide content, and high-bond strength.

The High-Velocity Combustion Wire Process is a new high-velocity combustion process now being used in the thermal spray industry. This process combines air, oxygen, and a fuel gas to generate a high-temperature, high-velocity plume that is optimum for producing metallic coatings. Analytical studies were conducted to investigate gas and droplet dynamics for the spraying of three different materials: aluminum, stainless steel, and molybdenum. With the relatively low flame temperatures of the process, the feedstock wire is melted by convective heat transfer with no superheating or vaporization of the droplets. When the droplets strike the substrate, their temperature peaks as the high kinetic energy of the droplet is transformed into thermal energy. The conservation equations were solved using the TORCH computer model, yielding the temperature and velocity profiles as a function of location. The PROCESS gas/droplet computer program was then employed to calculate the dynamics of the molten droplets. The results of this modeling was confirmed with process diagnostics. Experimentation included droplet temperature measurements using a two-color pyrometer and droplet velocity measurements using particle imaging velocimetry for the stainless steel material system. The coatings produced in the study exhibit superior quality with high density, high hardness, low oxide content, and high bond strength.

The performance (particle velocity and velocity distribution) of a typical injector, and the resulting particle spray pattern for metallic (NiCrAlY) and ceramic (ZrO 2 ) particles are examined as a function of carrier gas flow rate and the effect of varying the geometry immediately upstream of the injector. Injector performance is also examined for a 1:1 mixture of ceramic and metallic particles such as is used in the spraying of functionally graded materials. The upstream geometries tested included a 90° "tee," a 90° elbow, and a straight entrance. The elbow geometry was tested in both "up" and "down" orientation to determine the influence of gravity. The upstream geometry can alter the average particle injection velocity by 10-15% influencing both the spray pattern trajectory and width.

In the spraying of functionally graded coatings, the particle ensemble delivered to the substrate varies from a relatively heavy, low-melting-point metallic particle to a significantly lighter, higher-melting-point ceramic particle. The desire is to deliver to the substrate a particle ensemble which has suitable velocity and temperature for the predictable and consistent formation of coatings with mixed particle types. The key to success is a thorough understanding of the relationship between spray gun parameters and the resulting particle condition. The gun parameters examined are powder loading (injection rate), powder mixtures, and secondary plasma gas (H 2 ). The spray characteristics measured were particle velocity, temperature, and spray pattern. The particle temperature and velocity are both significantly influenced by the flow rate of the secondary gas (gun power). The powder feed rate was found to have a small but measurable effect on both the spray pattern and the ensemble average particle temperature. It was observed that a "tight" hot particle spray pattern, unfortunately, does not necessarily minimize the number of cold unmelted particles.

In the spraying of functionally graded coatings the particle ensemble delivered to the substrate can vary from a relatively low melting point metallic particle to a significantly higher melting point ceramic particle. At various stages in the spray process the particle ensemble can be either predominantly metallic, ceramic, or an intermediate combination. For co-injected particles the mixtures do not behave as a simple linear superposition of the spray patterns of the individual particle types. The particle temperature, velocity, size distributions, and pattern characteristics of the resulting spray fields is examined for all ceramic particle sprays (ZrO 2 ), all metallic particle sprays (NiCrAlY), and for a 1:1 mixture. The major particle-particle interaction occurs in the injector itself and results in a modified spray pattern which is different from that of either material sprayed alone. The particle velocity distributions generally exhibit a bimodal nature which is dependent on the size and density of the injected particles.

An investigation into the dependency of the formation of functionally graded materials (FGMs) on process variables was carried out. The initial stage of the investigation involved a complete analysis of the plasma spray parameters used in the fabrication of an FGM constructed of NiCrAlY and partially stabilized zirconia (PSZ). In flight particle temperature, velocity and trajectory data were gathered for individual powders, as well as mixtures of the particle species, over a range of spray parameters. This data was combined with material specific properties such as flowability, apparent density, particle morphology and size distribution. The end result of the studies allowed for size matching of the particle species so as to ensure both species were molten at the nominal spray distance and possessed coincident impact velocities. Following the initial investigation, two spray conditions were selected for further analysis. Individual layers of specific powder mixture ratios were deposited as well as a complete FGM structure. The resulting structures were then compared based on their deposition efficiencies, porosity levels, compositional homogeneity and microstructures.

The variation in microstructure of high power plasma sprayed nickel coatings deposited with particle velocities ranging from 150 to 425 m/s and nominal particle temperatures of 1650 or 2050°C has been characterized. The relative density of coatings produced at the higher temperature is above 99.5% of theoretical regardless of the particle velocity; at the lower particle temperature the relative density is found to increase with increasing particle velocity. The fraction of unmelted particles is also found to increase with increasing velocity at the lower temperature. The relative deposition efficiency is approximately twice as high for the lower temperature particles compared to the high temperature, and for both temperatures the deposition efficiency decreases substantially with increasing velocity. Changes in the morphology of individual splats with changes in particle characteristics are also described.

High power supersonic plasma guns operating in excess of 200 kW can produce molten particles with 3 to 4 times the impact velocity of conventional plasma sprays. With this increased range of particle velocity it is important to understand the relationship between the torch input parameters and the sprayed particle velocity, temperature, pattern and size. Stainless steel particle velocity, temperature, size and relative number are measured for a high power plasma spray system operating at 110 kW. At the same torch operating conditions the plasma and particle flow fields are simulated with a newly developed computational model. It was found that the injection geometry plays an important role in the particle entrainment, heating and acceleration. In spite of the complexity of the system, i.e. supersonic plasma velocity with a high swirl component, the simulation produced reasonalble particle trajectories resulting in good agreement between the calculated and measured particle velocity, temperature and size distributions.

An experimental study of twin-wire electric arc spraying of zinc and aluminum coatings demonstrates the suitability of the process for anticorrosion applications. Experiments were conducted using Box-type full-factorial designs. Operating parameters were varied around the following process parameters: nozzle diameter, nozzle geometry, and system pressure. A systematic design of experiments displayed the range of processing conditions and their effect on the resultant coatings. The coatings were characterized with hardness and deposition efficiency tests, and optical metallography. Coating properties are quantified with respect to roughness, hardness, porosity, thickness, bond strength, and microstructure. The features of the coatings are correlated with the process changes. Selected analytical calculations and process diagnostics of the meltpool dynamics are presented.