The adhesion of plasma sprayed polyamide and PMMA coatings to steel depends markedly on the plasma arc power, the spraying distance and the substrate temperature. Each of these process parameters shows an optimum value with respect to adhesion. The underlying reason for this behaviour is the pronounced sensitivity of polymers to temperature. Heat transfer analysis and electron microscopy indicate that a critical amount of heat is required to be transferred from the flame to the feedstock particles in order to provide sufficient splat flow but avoid coating thermal degradation. Inadequate flow leads to interfacial voidage while degradation gives inferior bonding and porosity.

The polyethylene terephtalate (PET) is a polymer with a high melting (265°C) and glass transition (67°C) temperatures, insensitive to moisture and common solvents. Also it has an wide range of mechanical properties attainable by variations of molecular weight, orientation and crystallinity. Due to these characteristics allied with the glass-like transparency, light weight and unbreakable character, PET is used to form high performance bottles for carbonated soft drinks, wines, beers and food packing. The world annual consumption of PET for these purposes is increasing, with impressive prospects for the future. This characteristic leads to other situation. The consumption of energy and natural resources together with the environmental problems caused by disposable plastics, make the engineering and materials scientists try to find for different ways to recycled plastics. The characteristics of PET mentioned above seen to be very proper to use as a material for coating.

A new concept of high energy recovery of dc plasma torch has been developed and applied to the deposition of polymer composites. The heat transferred to low cost fillers, such as alumina or silica injected into the high temperature zone of the plasma, is recovered in the applied polymer coating, which is injected downstream in a much cooler zone of the plasma. The result is a polymer/ceramic composite spraying process having the following benefits: Shrinkage phenomena due to polymer recrystallisation is eliminated, providing a good coating adhesion, a high spray material throughput rate is achieved and die risk of coating polymer combustion is greatly reduced. The polymer composite form decreases the overall costs of coatings and the type of filler employed influences the properties of the composite. Abrasion resistant composites have been produced with alumina and silica fillers (50 wt.%). Medium density polyethylene (MDPE), sprayed with 50 wt.% reinforcement, have shown abrasion resistance as high as UHMWPE. Polymer degradation, abrasion mechanisms and microstructures of these composite coatings are explained.

Statistical design-of-experiment studies of the thermal spraying of polymer powders are presented. Studies of the subsonic combustion (i.e., Flame) process were conducted in order to determine the quality and economics of polyester and urethane coatings. Thermally sprayed polymer coatings are of interest to several industries for anticorrosion applications, including the chemical, automotive, and aircraft industries. In this study, the coating design has been optimized for a site-specific application using Taguchi-type fractional-factorial experiments. Optimized coating designs are presented for the two powder systems. A substantial range of thermal processing conditions and their effect on the resultant polymer coatings is presented. The coatings were characterized by optical metallography, hardness testing, tensile testing, and compositional analysis. Characterization of the coatings yielded the thickness, bond strength, Knoop microhardness, roughness, deposition efficiency, and porosity. Confirmation testing was accomplished to verify the coating designs.

In thermal spraying of metal-polymer coatings, the processes of polymers oxidation and destruction can have special features, as the temperature of heating of the filler particles can significantly exceed the temperature of destruction of the polymer binder. Hence, the need to study the features of the process of formation of thermal sprayed coatings from filled polymers and their physico-chemical, mechanical and service properties. This paper describes the influence of a filler composition and conditions of flame spraying on a structure and mechanical properties of composite polymer coatings. It is observed that addition of 5-10 vol. % of Fe-Ni-B alloy powder to low-pressure polyethylene polymer matrices, improves the wear resistance of thermal sprayed coatings 1.2-1.3 times under the conditions of gas-abrasive wear, compared to purely polymer coating, owing to the combination of the higher hardness of the coating with the high damping properties of the polymer matrix.

The mechanical properties of EMAA copolymer are dependent upon the thermal spray processing parameters. The parameters determine coating temperatures which, in turn, affects the microstructure. If the deposition temperature is too low, (104 °C for PFl 13 and 160 °C for PFl 11) coatings have low strengths and low energy to break values. Increased coating temperatures allow the particles to fully coalesce resulting in maximized strength and elongation to break. However, at 271 °C, PFl 11 had visible porosity which decreased both strength and elastic modulus. Pigment acts as reinforcement in the sense that the modulus increased but the elongation to break decreased, thus reducing the energy to break. Water quenching reduces the elastic modulus and yield strength, but increases the elongation to break for both EMAA formulations. The mechanical properties of post consumer commingled plastic and PCCP / EMMA blends improved if the recycled plastic was pre-processed by melt-compounding. Melt compounding increased the strength and toughness by improving the compatibility among the various polymer constituents. The addition of PCCP increases the modulus and yield strength of ethylene methaciylic acid copolymer.

Plasma spray deposition of epoxies under normal conditions produces coatings with low wear resistance. The research shows that the difficulty in achieving satisfactory properties is a result of the rapid heat flow from the coating to the substrate, which suppresses the crosslinking reaction. The results indicate that the use of substrate preheating or ceramic undercoats enhances the wear resistance by promoting the curing reaction during spraying.

A heat transfer analysis has been undertaken to predict the influence of process parameters on the decomposition of in-flight particles and deposited layers during thermal spraying of polymer coatings. The theoretical analysis shows that polymers are unique in developing large temperature gradients, which accelerates the degradation of the surface of the particles and the coating layers. However, the analysis indicates that the degradation can be limited by the control of the plasma gas composition, the spraying distance and the torch traverse speed. The theoretical analysis has been confirmed by weight loss measurements, wear tests and microstructural observations of plasma sprayed PMMA coatings. The work shows the existence of a critical traverse speed below which satisfactory coatings cannot be produced.

Thermal spray coating of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) components has a high development potential to improve their wear, erosion and corrosion resistance. This paper deals with the optimization of plasma spraying conditions of alumina onto a FRP substrate, including the study of surface preparation. The so-called "Atmosphere and Temperature Controlled Process (ATC, patented by CEA)" was used to maintain the substrate temperature at a rather low level, i.e. near room temperature. Various surface preparation processes such as grit blasting, cleaning using the plasma torch and pre-coating with an intermediate bond coat were tested. The latter was shown to improve adhesion between the coating and the substrate significantly, when using 2 types of bond coats. One consisted of an additionnal fiber layer directly stuck to the substrate, the other of an intermediate thermally-sprayed PEEK layer. Results of adhesion tests were discussed in the light of interface characterization. Using a PEEK bond coat led to an adhesion strength between alumina and the substrate 3 times better than that for the material without any bond coat.

Polymeric coatings are now widely used for their corrosion resistance, low friction coefficient against many materials, decorative properties but also, when doped with ceramic particles, their protection against slipping and their good erosion resistance. Compared to traditional means of deposition, flame spraying in controlled atmosphere extends the scope of their applications either for shapes that can be coated or for site deposition. The materials chosen for spraying were Rislan, Gotalene and Tefzel. In this paper are presented the flame spraying technique which was used and the parameters controlling particles melting as well as, the substrates on which coatings were achieved (metals, woods, concretes, ceramics...) and their preparation. A few applications are then described with for example coatings reinforced by ceramic particles against slipping in wet or greasy area.

Experimental studies of the subsonic combustion process have been conducted in order to determine the quality and economics of polyester, epoxy, urethane, and hybrid polyester-epoxy coatings. Thermally sprayed polymer coatings are of interest to several industries for anti-corrosion applications, including the infrastructural, chemical, automotive, and aircraft industries. Classical experiments were conducted, from which a substantial range of thermal processing conditions and their effect on the resultant coating were obtained. The coatings were characterized and evaluated by a number of techniques, including Knoop microhardness tests, optical metallography, image analysis, and bond strength. Characterization of the coatings yielded thickness, bond strength, hardness, and porosity.

Thermal sprayed coatings of polypenylene-sulphide (PPS) and polyphenyletherether-ketone (PEEK) have been produced by HVAF spray system. The properties of these coatings have been investigated by corrosion test and FT-IR analysis. The main results of this study are summarized as follows; (1) In case of PPS coatings, PPS powder is oxidized during thermal spraying. However, PPS coatings have a good corrosion resistance. However, PEEK coatings have high porosity so that corrosion of the substrate occurs. (2) In case of PEEK coatings, the molecular structure of PEEK powder is not changed during thermal spraying.