This paper presents the results of an emission study on plasma spraying equipment and processes. Various measurements and samples were taken outside the spraying booth, at the operator level, and in the suction ducts upstream and downstream of the filtration equipment, creating a detailed profile of the aerosol emitted by the injection of NiAl powder in the plasma jet. The results show the existence of two families of particles, one ranging in size from 0.5 to 20 µm, the other of nanometric proportions. Concentrations of the larger particles were in the range of 600 cm-3 in the booth. As for submicron particles, concentrations of up to 107 cm-3 were observed but decreased significantly at the outlet of the filter system. The aerosol samples examined were dominated by a nanometric background of aggregates made up of oxidized nickel particles. Aggregates up to 100 nm in size, consisting of finer particles in the 5-20 nm size range, were found in high concentrations upstream of the filtration system. Great vigilance is thus required to protect equipment operators, an important part of which is placing dust collectors as close as possible to spraying booths connected by short, straight pipe runs.

In subzero conditions, atmospheric ice naturally accretes on surfaces in outdoor environments. This accretion can compromise the operational performance of several industrial applications, such as wind turbines, power lines, aviation, and maritime transport. To effectively prevent icing problems, the development of durable icephobic coating solutions is strongly needed. Here, the durability of lubricated icephobic coatings was studied under repeated icing/deicing cycles. Lubricated coatings were produced in one-step by flame spraying with hybrid feedstock injection. The coating icephobicity was investigated by accreting ice from supercooled microdroplets using an icing wind tunnel. The ice adhesion strength was evaluated by a centrifugal ice adhesion tester. The icing performance was investigated over four icing/deicing cycles. Surface properties of coatings, such as morphology, topography, chemical composition and wettability, were analyzed before and after the cycles. The results showed an increase in ice adhesion over the cycles, while a stable icephobic behaviour was retained for one selected coating. Moreover, consecutive ice detachment caused a surface roughness increase. This promotes the formation of mechanical interlocking with ice, thus justifying the increased ice adhesion. Finally, the coating hydrophobicity mainly decreased as a consequence of the damaged surface topography. In summary, lubricated coatings retained a good icephobic level after the cycles, thus demonstrating their potential for icephobic applications.