Search Results for suspension plasma spraying

Thermal spraying of oxide ceramic suspensions containing fine and ultrafine powder particles is a new approach for manufacturing ceramic coatings exhibiting a refined microstructure. Suspension sprayed coatings clearly differ from conventionally sprayed coatings regarding microstructure phase composition and resulting mechanical properties. Several industrial applications may take advantage in future; among these are thermal barrier structures, thermal shock protection, solid electrolytes, catalytically active surfaces and wear resistant coatings. Two methods, namely Suspension Plasma Spraying (SPS) and High Velocity Suspension Flame Spraying (HVSFS) are suitable to process suspensions but lead to rather different coating structures due to differences in the achievable particle velocities and temperature. Generally, HVSFS can lead to more dense coatings with low porosity values. With SPS on the other hand, coatings with a high volume fraction of porosity featuring a homogeneous pore structure are achievable. The presentation will compare SPS and HVSFS regarding the spray process, achieved properties of the oxide coatings and potential applications.

This paper discusses a research project with the goal of homogenizing the properties of three-cathode plasma sprayed coatings through the use of advanced diagnostics and numerical simulations. The approach included the development of a suspension injection setup, the determination of plasma and suspension behavior through diagnostic methods such as computer tomography and particle image velocimetry, and the analysis of coating formation through computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis. The results of their investigations are presented, including tomographic reconstructions of temperature distribution, suspension behavior measurements, and coating analysis. The paper concludes with a discussion of the future directions of their research and the potential impact on the field of thermal spray coatings.

Suspension Plasma Spraying (SPS) allows depositing finely structured coatings. This paper presents an analysis of the influence of plasma instabilities which control the interaction plasma jet-zirconia suspension. A particular attention is paid to the treatment of suspension jet or drops according to the importance of voltage fluctuations (linked to those of arc root) and depending on the different spray parameters such as the plasma forming gas mixture and the suspension momentum. By observing the suspension drops injection with a fast shutter camera and a laser flash triggered by a defined transient voltage level of the plasma torch, the influence of plasma fluctuation on drops fragmentation is studied through the deviation and dispersion trajectories of droplets within the plasma jet.

This work investigates the fundamental mechanical properties of SPS and APS thermal barrier coatings. SPS YSZ coatings had lower Young’s modulus values and higher interfacial toughness than APS deposited layers. The low stiffness of SPS coatings limits the elastic energy that can be stored in ceramic layers. This coupled with good interfacial toughness might make SPS deposited thermal barrier coatings less prone to delamination due to thermal cycling.

The temperature of in-flight particles in plasma spraying is one of the main parameters affecting the coating microstructure. Temperature measurement has been carried out before for inflight particles in air plasma spray (APS) and other thermal spraying processes. Suspension plasma spray (SPS) is an emerging coating deposition technology that permits the deposition of nanostructured coatings with unique structural characteristics. The aim of this work is to evaluate the influence of radiation emitted by the plasma and metallic vapors on temperature measurement of SPS particles performed by two-color pyrometry. To do so, spectroscopic analysis in the visible to near-infrared range is carried out on the jet stream when suspension of 20wt% YSZ particles in ethanol is sprayed. The analysis takes into account the radiation scattered by the particles (Mie scattering) as well as the radiation directly detected from the jet stream, and it was found that the effect of the scattered radiation by the particles on temperature measurement is 1 degree at its melting point (2700°C) and 16 degrees at 2500°C.

In this study, atmospheric and suspension plasma spraying are used to create nickel-based electrodes with enhanced surface area as required for hydrogen production. Optimal spraying conditions were determined using a Taguchi design-of-experiments approach. Electrochemical double-layer capacitance measurements by cyclic voltammetry show that suspension plasma spray coatings have more surface area than coatings produced by atmospheric plasma spraying. SEM micrographs show that the surface microstructure of the sample with the largest surface area contains high amounts of cauliflower-like aggregates with an average diameter of 10 µm. In general, the combination of melted, semi-melted, and resolidified particles leads to the formation of deposits with high porosity, rougher surfaces, and consequently larger surface areas.

Suspension plasma spraying is a promising modification to traditional plasma spray techniques that may allow plasma sprayed layers with finer microstructures and better porosity control to be produced. The fine microstructures and controlled porosity of these layers, combined with plasma spraying’s ability to produce layers rapidly without requiring a post-deposition heat treatment, makes this an interesting new manufacturing method to produce solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) active layers. This study uses an axial injection suspension plasma spray system to produce thin, high-density layers of fully stabilized yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) for use as an SOFC electrolyte. Three different aqueous feedstock suspensions with varying solid contents were sprayed, which resulted in coatings with splat thicknesses of approximately 0.5 µm and some intersplat porosity. Total coating thickness increased as the suspension solid content was increased, but suspension flow rates and deposition efficiencies decreased.

Recent works have been devoted to achieve dense and thin (<15 µm) zirconia coatings using a relatively new process, Suspension Plasma Spraying (SPS). Nevertheless, the parameters controlling the microstructure of the deposit are not yet clearly identified, particularly for the injection of suspension. Hence, the liquid penetration into the plasma has been observed with a fast shutter (10 -5 s) camera coupled with a laser flash and triggered by a defined instantaneous voltage level of the plasma torch. This paper is focused on the treatment of the suspension jet or drops according to the suspension properties (with the viscosity, particles load, injection velocity…) and depending on the different spray parameters such as the plasma forming gas mixture composition and the plasma torch design (either PTF4 or home made torch). These works have permitted the obtention of zirconia coatings with low thicknesses (~10 µm) and dense structure (~4% of porosity).

Intermediate temperature - solid oxy-fuel cells (IT-SOFCs) include in their design a solid electrolyte layer made of yttria-partially stabilized zirconia (Y-PSZ), an ionic conductor, through which oxygen ions diffuse. This layer needs to fulfill several characteristics among which a low leakage rate corresponding to a non-connected pore network and a low level of stacking defects such as microcracks or globular pores. Moreover, the thickness of this layer needs to be as low as possible (about 20 µm) in order to limit ohmic losses. Suspension plasma spraying (SPS) appears as a potential technological route to manufacture such layers structured at micrometric or sub-micrometric scales. In SPS, a stabilized suspension, made of a liquid, solid particles and a dispersant, is injected within the plasma flow. The liquid is very quickly fragmented and then vaporized and the individual particles, or the particle agglomerates, depending on the average size and morphology of the solid feedstock, are heated and simultaneously accelerated towards the substrate surface where they impact, spread and solidify, analogously in a first approximation to larger particles, to form a layer. The architecture of the layer is very closely related to plasma operating parameters (from which derive plasma flow stability), from the suspension characteristics, in particular the feedstock particle size distribution and from the suspension injection parameters. This work aims at presenting recent developments made to optimize some of these operating parameters to maximize the electrolyte layer characteristics.

In order to achieve SOFC at reduced costs, atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) could be an attractive technique. However, it is difficult to elaborate plasma sprayed coatings with the appropriate porosity for the electrodes and full density for the electrolyte. The spray process has been adapted by providing a suspension as feedstock material. SPS shows important advantages over APS, since it is now possible to spray finer powders to obtain either a thin (10 µm) dense layer as electrolyte or thick and finely structured porous layers for the electrodes. Nevertheless some questions still remain before considering manufacturing SOFC by SPS. The major one is to understand the influence of the suspension and the injection parameters on the drops formation and transformation in plasma before impinging upon the substrate as well as of the suspension characteristics (formulation, particle size and amount, viscosity, surface tension,...). To answer these questions, suspensions based on nickel oxide (NiO) and YSZ (yttria stabilized particles) have been prepared and functional layers have been produced by SPS. This work is compared with previous studies of YSZ sprayed suspensions.

The synthetic hydroxyapatite (HA, Ca 10 (PO 4 ) 6 (OH) 2 ) is a very useful biomaterial for numerous applications in medicine, especially in view of using as fine powder for suspension plasma spraying. The powder was synthesized using aqueous solution of ammonium phosphate (H 2 (PO 4 )NH 4 ) and calcium nitrate (Ca(NO 3 ).4H 2 O) in carefully controlled experiments. The synthesized fine powder was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The powder was formulated into water and alcohol based suspension and used to carry out the initial tests of plasma spraying onto titanium substrate. The phase analysis of sprayed coating was made with the used of XRD.

Suspension plasma spraying (SPS) is regarded as a promising way to produce new coating structures with improved properties. In this study, SPS was studied as a possible manufacturing process for producing thin MnCo 2 O 4 spinel coatings for used as protective coatings in metallic interconnector plates of SOFC’s. Suspension of nanosized MnCo 2 O 4 powder and ethanol was thermally sprayed by using an F4-MB plasma gun with radial suspension feeding. The influence of spraying parameters, such as plasma gas composition, total gas flow, current and spraying distance for coating architecture was studied by using field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction method (XRD). Spraying parameters had a strong influence on the coating structure and composition. Coating with the most homogenous structure were formed when sprayed with the low energy spraying parameters whereas high energy parameters resulted in formation of a columnar microstructure containing larger cobalt rich areas.

Intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells include in their design a solid electrolyte layer, usually made of yttria-stabilized zirconia, that acts as an ionic conductor through which oxygen ions diffuse. This layer must be as thin as possible to limit ohmic losses yet have a low leakage rate corresponding to a low level of connected stacking defects such as microcracks. Suspension plasma spraying (SPS) appears to be a viable method for manufacturing such layers and is used in this study to produce gastight coatings that with further improvements may meet the requirements of SOFCs. The paper describes the setup and optimization of the SPS process and the methods used to evaluate the solid electrolyte layers.

Suspension plasma spraying (SPS) offers the manufacture of unique microstructures which are not possible with conventional powder feedstocks. Due to the considerably smaller size of the droplets and also the further fragmentation of these in the plasma jet, the attainable microstructural features like splat and pore sizes can be downsized to the nanometer range. Our present understanding of the SPS deposition process including injection, suspension plasma plume interaction, and deposition is outlined in this report. The conclusions drawn are based on microstructure analysis in combination with enthalpy probe and particle temperature and velocity and measurements. Measurements with a water-cooled stagnation probe provide valuable information on the interaction of the carrier fluid with the plasma plume. The examples presented include segmented thermal barrier coatings for turbine components, LSM cathode deposits for SOFCs, and TiO 2 layers for photovoltaic Gratzel cells.

One of the goals of this study is to better understand how suspension plasma spraying parameters, particularly plasma gas mixtures, influence layer formation. Another goal is to produce finely structured layers of Al 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 with a wide range of architectures. To that end, a simple theoretical model is used to describe the operating conditions of the plasma torch and the influence of spraying parameters is expressed in terms of the shape and size of spray beads.

In this study, suspension plasma spraying is used to produce cast iron coatings that benefit from a graphite structure. In order to increase the graphite content, different hydrocarbons in the form of liquid suspension (hexane and toluene) and gas precursor (methane) were injected into the plasma stream along with iron powder. Besides promoting the formation of a soot carbon structure, liquid hydrocarbon injection also prevents in-flight particle oxidation, which is a major concern when spraying metals. In addition, it has been observed that using a shroud during spraying significantly increases the amount of soot carbon in cast iron coatings, which can be transformed into graphite by post annealing.

Suspension plasma spraying facilitates the production of thick coatings structured at the submicron or even nanometer scale. Due to the large volume fraction of internal interfaces, nanostructured coatings tend to be superior to their microstructured counterparts. Suspension plasma sprayed oxide ceramics, for example, have higher coefficients of thermal expansion, lower thermal diffusivity and hysteresis, higher hardness and toughness, and better wear resistance. In this work, Y-PSZ thermal barrier coatings are manufactured by means of SPS using two commercial submicron powders with different particle size distributions. By varying spray parameters, several coating architectures and thicknesses were achieved. The coatings were subjected to a series of thermal and isothermal shocks in order to assess the effect of particle size distribution, layer thickness, and substrate roughness on thermomechanical behavior.

In this study, suspension plasma spraying is used to produce self-lubricating titanium oxide coatings. Certain nonstoichiometric titanium oxide phases, called Magneli phases, exhibit a reduction in friction under dry sliding conditions at elevated temperatures. These phases, however, tend to undergo crystal changes during thermal spraying, resulting in the loss of their good friction behavior. In this work, the goal is to stabilize these phases with suitable lattice substitutions for Ti 4+ . The resulting phases are shown to be homologous to Ti n O 2 n -1 , but have the advantages of a three-component system, making them more thermally stable with a broader area of formation.

In this investigation, particle image velocimetry (PIV) diagnostics were employed to analyze the spray produced by a two-fluid atomizer as used in suspension plasma spraying (SPS). This led to a change in the design of the atomizing nozzle in order to achieve a high-speed spray with narrow distributions in droplet size. The resultant spray was characterized and the diagnostic was adapted accordingly. Various suspensions of YSZ powders were then injected into the plasma under different conditions and particle velocities were determined and correlated with the coating morphologies obtained.

Fine (median size 6 μm and 0.3 μm) cobalt spinel (Co 3 O 4 ) powders were processed suspended in a suitable liquid phase. Suspensions exceeding 50 wt.% solid phase content were successfully injected into an inductively coupled plasma. Spheroidized powders with large particle size (up to 80 μm) were prepared, and cobalt oxide coatings were produced by this novel RF-SPS method. The microstructural features of the coatings can be controlled by parameter optimization similarly to plasma spraying of dry powders. Numerous variations of the physical and chemical conditions of the process were performed in an attempt to overcome the main disadvantage of the process, i.e. the decomposition of the spinel phase to CoO. So far, the spinel phase could be reestablished only by a post-treatment of the deposited coatings with atomic oxygen in the RF plasma.