Fabrication of Porous Molybdenum by Controlling Spray Particle State

In this study, porous molybdenum (Mo) was prepared by flame spraying of semi-molten particles with low velocity. The influence of spray particle parameters, including velocity and melting degree, on the microstructure and porosity of Mo deposit was investigated to understand the formation mechanism of the pore structure and connection between particles. The results showed that Mo spray particles with low velocity (<20 m/s) and semi-molten state can be generated by flame spraying. The Mo deposits with porosity from 39 to 61% were produced. High porosity in the deposit was achieved through the shielding effect of deposited particles. The surface-molten particles were bonded by the melt which flowed from surface to the particle/particle contact area. Moreover, the porosity decreased with the increase of melting degree of particles before impact. A 2D stacking model of semi-molten particles was proposed to explain the formation of bimodal pores and high porosity.     

Asymmetric Melting Behavior in Twin Wire Arc Spraying with Cored Wires

Asymmetric melting behavior of the electrodes is a process-related feature of the Twin Wire Arc Spraying (TWAS) technique since the heating of the negative connected wire is different from that of the positive connected wire. Due to these differences in melting behavior, a tracking of particle velocity and temperature for both electrodes individually is very important. Particle velocity and temperature have been recorded from anode side and cathode side by positioning the tracking device respectively. To draw the whole picture of the spraying, jet, particles have been tracked also from the top side of the spray gun. The goal of this study is to have an experimental data setup for model building and simulation of depositing process in TWAS. Corresponding measuring devices have been employed to investigate the TWAS process by spraying of massive and cored wires.     

On the Response of Different Particle State Sensors to Deliberate Process Variations

Deliberate particle state variations were performed using atmospheric plasma spray (APS) and high-velocity oxy-fuel flame spraying (HVOF) to create a set of first-order process maps. Particle states were measured simultaneously using five in-flight particle sensors: DPV-2000, Accuraspray, SprayWatch, TDS, and SprayCam. While the sensors use similar methods for calculating particle characteristics, absolute values of temperature and velocity were considerably different. Process map trends among sensors are in agreement for the HVOF process, but differ when using plasma spray at high total gas flow conditions. After understanding the stochastic nature of particle detection, an open loop feedback control algorithm was implemented to achieve similar particle states with different hydrogen gas flow rates. The resulting particle state window measured by three different sensors under select fixed hydrogen flow rates was significantly narrowed.     

Warm Spray Forming of Ti-6Al-4V

Warm spray (WS) is a modification of high-velocity oxy-fuel spraying, in which the temperature of the supersonic gas flow generated by the combustion of kerosene and oxygen is controlled by diluting the combustion flame with an inert gas such as nitrogen. The inert gas is injected into the mixing chamber placed between the combustion chamber and the powder feed ports, thus the temperature of the propellant gas can be controlled from ~700 to 2,000 K. Since WS allows for higher particle temperatures in comparison to cold spray, warm sprayed particles are more softened upon impact, thus resulting in greater deformation facilitating the formation of shear instability for bonding. Recently, the combustion pressure of WS has been increased from 1 (low-pressure warm spray) to 4 MPa (high-pressure warm spray) in order to increase the velocity of sprayed particles. Effects of spray parameters on microstructure, mechanical properties, and splats formation of Ti-6Al-4V were systematically studied. Obtained coatings were examined by analyzing the coating cross-section images, microhardness as well as oxygen content. In addition, flattening ratio of splats was calculated as a function of nitrogen flow rate. It was found that the increased particle velocity caused by the increased combustion pressure had significant beneficial effects in terms of improving density and controlling the oxygen level in the sprayed Ti-6Al-4V coatings.     

大气等离子射流中粒子飞行行为的试验测量

为考察等离子熔射中粉末的飞行过程,应用芬兰Oseir公司等离子喷涂在线监测和分析设备SprayWatch对射流中粒子的温度、飞行速度和粒子流量进行了测量,探讨了等离子弧电压、电流、功率以及送粉量等参数对粒子飞行状态的影响.结果表明:同等功率下,电流对粒子速度的影响高于电压,电压对粒子流量的影响高于电流,电压、电流对粒子温度则呈现交替重要的影响;在电流400A、电压50V下粒子流量随送粉量的增加呈现低-高-低的"山峦"状变化,反映了粒子飞行路径和分布的变化.     

Suspension Plasma-Sprayed Alumina Coating Structures: Operating Parameters Versus Coating Architecture

Suspension plasma spraying (SPS) is able to process sub-micrometric-sized feedstock particles and permits the deposition of layers thinner (from 5 to 50 μm) than those resulting from conventional atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). SPS consists in mechanically injecting within the plasma flow a liquid suspension of particles of average diameter varying between 0.02 and 1 μm, average values. Upon penetration within the DC plasma jet, two phenomena occur sequentially: droplet fragmentation and evaporation. Particles are then processed by the plasma flow prior their impact, spreading and solidification upon the surface to be covered. Depending upon the selection of operating parameters, among which plasma power parameters (operating mode, enthalpy, spray distance, etc.), suspension properties (particle size distribution, powder mass percentage, viscosity, etc.), and substrate characteristics (topology, temperature, etc.), different coating architectures can be manufactured, from dense to porous layers. Nevertheless, the coupling between the parameters controlling the coating microstructure and properties are not yet fully identified. The aim of this study is to further understand the influence of parameters controlling the manufacturing mechanisms of SPS alumina coatings, particularly the spray beads influence.     

Crystallization Evolution of Cold-Sprayed Pure Ni Coatings

Cold spraying is a coating technology on the basis of aerodynamics and high-speed impact dynamics. Spray particles (usually 1-50 μm in diameter) are accelerated to high velocity (typically 300-1200 m/s) by a high-speed gas (preheated air, nitrogen, or helium) flow that is generated through a convergent-divergent de Laval type nozzle. The coating forms through the intensive plastic deformation of particles impacting on the substrate at temperatures well below the melting point of the spray material. In the present paper, the main processing parameters affecting the crystallization behavior of pure Ni cold spray deposits on IN718 alloy are described. Various experimental conditions have been analyzed: gas temperature and pressure, nozzle to substrate distance. In particular, the study deals with those conditions leading to a strong grain refinement, with an acceptable level of the deposits mechanical properties. In precise spray conditions, a shift toward amorphous phases has been observed and studied. A systematic analysis of microstructural evolution, performed through TEM observations, as a function of processing parameters is presented.     

Analysis and optimization of the HVOF process by combined experimental and numerical approaches

Thermal spraying with the HVOF technology is a well known approach to dense metallic, ceramic and cermets coatings with good mechanical properties. Any attempt for improving HVOF coating properties requires a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms that occur during HVOF spraying. Thermal spray processes are not only optimized by empirical testing and by correlation analysis between process parameters and coating properties but also with numerical approaches. Recent attempts to understand the momentum and heat transfer mechanisms between flame and particles, and thus improve the control of the thermokinetic deposition process by analysis of fundamental thermophysical and fluid mechanical processes, have led to computational modeling of the spraying process and verification of simulation results by in-flight particle analysis.This paper focuses on modeling (tracking) of the particle properties during HVOF spraying using alumina powder. The particle properties are sensitive to a large number of process parameters (e.g., gas temperature, gas expansion velocity, pressure, spraying distance, spray powder particle diameter, nozzle geometry, etc.). Variation of the operating parameters of the HVOF process (gas flow rates, stoichiometric oxy/fuel ratio, nozzle design, etc.) is performed during modeling and simulation. The SprayWatch® system for particle in-flight measurement is used for verification of the numerical analysis result.     

高稳定性电弧喷涂刚性送丝机的设计

目的解决传统电弧喷涂送丝机的局限性,特别是柔性送丝结构存在的送丝速率低、送丝波动大等问题。方法设计了刚性送丝结构,进而成功研制了高稳定性电弧喷涂刚性送丝机,并通过送丝速率测试、喷涂电流测试及喷涂焰流观察等对比性试验,验证了设计的有效性和可行性。结果在无喷涂状态下,传统柔性送丝机和文中研制的刚性送丝机的送丝速率均随送丝电压的增大而增大,且刚性送丝速率呈近似线性变化趋势,而柔性送丝速率具有一定随机性。在相同送丝电压下,刚性送丝的速率高于柔性送丝,即具有更小的送丝阻力;且刚性送丝机两侧丝材送进平均速率的同步误差均小于3%,而柔性送丝机的同步误差为5%左右,说明刚性送丝机具有较好的送丝同步性。同时,柔性送丝机的送丝速率波动率为10%左右,而刚性送丝机的仅为2%左右,说明刚性送丝机在无喷涂状态下具有优异的送丝稳定性。在喷涂状态下,刚性送丝机和柔性送丝机的喷涂电流波动率分别为4.76%和29.36%,且刚性送丝机的喷涂焰流比柔性送丝机的更加集中稳定,说明刚性送丝机在喷涂状态下也能保持良好的送丝稳定性。结论刚性送丝结构可以有效减小送丝机的送丝阻力并保证两侧丝材送进的同步性,使送丝过程具有更高的稳定性。     

Diagnostics of Cold-Sprayed Particle Velocities Approaching Critical Deposition Conditions

In cold spraying, the impact particle velocity plays a key role for successful deposition. It is well known that only those particles can achieve successful bonding which have an impact velocity exceeding a particular threshold. This critical velocity depends on the thermomechanical properties of the impacting particles at impacting temperature. The latter depends on the gas temperature in the torch but also on stand-off distance and gas pressure. In the past, some semiempirical approaches have been proposed to estimate particle impact and critical velocities. Besides that, there are a limited number of available studies on particle velocity measurements in cold spraying. In the present work, particle velocity measurements were performed using a cold spray meter, where a laser beam is used to illuminate the particles ensuring sufficiently detectable radiant signal intensities. Measurements were carried out for INCONEL^® alloy 718-type powders with different particle sizes. These experimental investigations comprised mainly subcritical spray parameters for this material to have a closer look at the conditions of initial deposition. The critical velocities were identified by evaluating the deposition efficiencies and correlating them to the measured particle velocity distributions. In addition, the experimental results were compared with some values estimated by model calculations.     

Radiation Spectral Analysis and Particle Temperature/Velocity Measurement in Plasma Spray with One-Color Camera

A color camera optical diagnostic imaging system has been developed for the measurement of temperature and velocity of individual in-flight particles in thermal plasma spray, based on the principle of particle streak velocimetry and two-color thermometry. Radiation spectral analysis of the characteristic behavior of a particle-laden plasma plume was performed to identify an optimal spectral range for accurate temperature measurements over which the powder particles and the interfering thermal plasma gas are discernable. Calibration of the thermal imaging system was carried out using a blackbody furnace with uncertainties less than 1.8%. Extensive experimental measurements were taken with the optical imaging system to obtain the temperature and velocity distributions of YSZ particles in practical plasma spraying applications. The uncertainties of the measured temperature and velocity with a color camera system mostly fluctuate around ±10% in comparison with data obtained from a commercially available measuring system.     

From Powders to Thermally Sprayed Coatings

Since the early stages of thermal spray, it has been recognized that the powder composition, size distribution, shape, mass density, mechanical resistance, components distribution for composite particles play a key role in coating microstructure and thermo mechanical properties. The principal characteristics of particles are strongly linked to the manufacturing process. Coatings also depend on the process used to spray particles and spray parameters. Many papers have been devoted to the relationships existing between coating properties and structures at different scales and manufacturing processes. In many conventional spray conditions resulting in micrometric structures, among the different parameters, good powder flow ability, and dense particles are important features. Thermal plasma treatment, especially by RF plasma, of particles, prepared by different manufacturing processes, allows achieving such properties and it is now developed at an industrial scale. Advantages and drawbacks of this process will be discussed. Another point, which will be approached, is the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, depending very strongly upon the starting composite particle manufacturing. However, as everybody knows, “small is beautiful” and nano- or finely structured coatings are now extensively studied with spraying of: (i) very complex alloys containing multiple elements which exhibit a glass forming capability when cooled-down, their under-cooling temperature being below the glass transition temperature; (ii) conventional micrometer-sized particles (in the 30-90 μm range) made of agglomerated nanometer-sized particles; (iii) sub-micrometer- or nanometer-sized particles via a suspension in which also, instead of particles, stable sol of nanometer-sized particles can be introduced; and (iv) spray solutions of final material precursor. These different processes using plasma, HVOF or sometimes flame and also cold-gas spray will be discussed together with the production of nanometer-sized particles via the chemical reaction method or by a special type of milling: the cryogenic milling process often referred to as “cryomilling.”     

Fabrication of Wire Mesh Heat Exchangers for Waste Heat Recovery Using Wire-Arc Spraying

Waste heat can be recovered from hot combustion gases using water-cooled heat exchangers. Adding fins to the external surfaces of the water pipes inserted into the hot gases increases their surface area and enhances heat transfer, increasing the efficiency of heat recovery. A method of increasing the heat transfer surface area has been developed using a twin wire-arc thermal spray system to generate a dense, high-strength coating that bonds wire mesh to the outside surfaces of stainless steel pipes through which water passes. At the optimum spray distance of 150 mm, the oxide content, coating porosity, and the adhesion strength of the coating were measured to be 7%, 2%, and 24 MPa, respectively. Experiments were done in which heat exchangers were placed inside a high-temperature oven with temperature varying from 300 to 900 °C. Several different heat exchanger designs were tested to estimate the total heat transfer in each case. The efficiency of heat transfer was found to depend strongly on the quality of the bond between the wire meshes and pipes and the size of openings in the wire mesh.     

Cold Spray Deposition of Copper Electrodes on Silicon and Glass Substrates

Copper lines with widths varying from 150 to 1500 μm were deposited onto crystalline silicon wafers and soda-lime glass plates by cold spraying copper particles with 1 μm average diameter through a mask. This direct deposition method yielded high-aspect-ratio electrodes with minimum shadowing effects and maximum electrode-to-silicon contact area. The copper lines had triangular cross sections with aspect ratios (height/width) ranging from 0.1 to 1.1, depending on the number of spray gun passes. Copper particles were densely packed with increasing the width of the masking slit. This study presents the potential use of the cold spray technology in printing lines as front electrodes in solar cell applications.     

Physicochemical Characteristics of Dust Particles in HVOF Spraying and Occupational Hazards: Case Study in a Chinese Company

Dust particles generated in thermal spray process can cause serious health problems to the workers. Dust particles generated in high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spraying WC-Co coatings were characterized in terms of mass concentrations, particle size distribution, micro morphologies, and composition. Results show that the highest instantaneous exposure concentration of dust particles in the investigated thermal spray workshop is 140 mg/m³ and the time-weighted average concentration is 34.2 mg/m³, which are approximately 8 and 4 times higher than the occupational exposure limits in China, respectively. The large dust particles above 10 μm in size present a unique morphology of polygonal or irregular block of crushed powder, and smaller dust particles mainly exist in the form of irregular or flocculent agglomerates. Some heavy metals, such as chromium, cobalt, and nickel, are also found in the air of the workshop and their concentrations are higher than the limits. Potential occupational hazards of the dust particles in the thermal spray process are further analyzed based on their characteristics and the workers’ exposure to the nanoparticles is assessed using a control banding tool.     

Influence of Spray Materials and Their Surface Oxidation on the Critical Velocity in Cold Spraying

The critical velocity is an important parameter in cold spraying, which determines the deposition efficiency under a given spray condition. The critical velocity depends not only on materials types, but also on particle temperature and oxidation conditions. In the present paper, three types of materials including copper, 316L stainless steel, Monel alloy were used to deposit coatings by cold spraying. The critical velocities of spray materials were determined using a novel measurement method. The oxygen content in the three powders was changed by isothermal oxidation at ambient atmosphere. The effect of oxygen content on the critical velocity was examined. It was found that the critical velocity in cold spray was significantly influenced by particle oxidation condition besides materials properties. The critical velocity of Cu particles changed from about 300 m/s to over 610 m/s with the change of oxygen content in powder. It is evident that the materials properties influence the critical velocity more remarkable at low oxygen content than at high oxygen content. The results suggest that with a severely oxidized powder the critical velocity tends to be dominated by oxide on the powder surface rather than materials properties.     

Ni-Al Nanoscale Energetic Materials: Phenomena Involved During the Manufacturing of Bulk Samples by Cold Spray

It has been shown that the cold-gas dynamic spraying process, or simply cold spray, is a suitable technique to manufacture nanoscale energetic materials with high reactivity and low porosity. The current study focuses on the Ni-Al system, for which the reactivity has been increased by an initial mechanical activation achieved by the ball-milling technique, leading to lamellar nanostructured composite particles. The consolidation of this nanoscale energetic material using the cold-gas dynamic spray technique permits to retain the feedstock powder nanoscale structure in the coatings, which in turn retain the high reactivity features of the powder. However, it has been noticed that the stagnation temperature during the spray can lead to partial reaction of the highly reactive feedstock powder, which directly influences the reactivity of the coatings. In this study, different stages of the spray process were investigated: (i) the in-flight behavior of the nanoscale energetic material (powder) at different stagnation temperatures (from 300 to 800 °C); (ii) the substrate-temperature evolution as the function of gas temperature; and (iii) the impact of the powder on the substrate, related to particle’s velocity and its influence on the nanostructure of the particles.     

Influence of Parameter Variations on WC-Co Splat Formation in an HVOF Process Using a New Beam-Shutter Device

The formation of single splats is the foundation for any thermal spray coating. Therefore, this study focuses on the investigation of single splat morphologies to determine the influence of spray parameters on the morphological distribution of particles inside the flame. A new method to create a footprint of a spray jet with an extremely short exposure time was used. The resulting field of splats enabled the assignment of each splat to its radial position in the spray jet. The footprints were analyzed and the quantities and morphologies of the splats were correlated to particle in-flight measurements and coating properties. A strong correlation between the particle velocity, the percentage of the so-called pancake-like splats, and the porosity of the coating could be revealed. The influence of the particle temperature was found to be of minor importance to the splat form and the porosity of the coatings. Still, the particle temperature had a good correlation with the coating hardness and the dissolving of the WC. Measurements of the splat size in different areas of the footprints revealed that the percentage of splats larger than 40 μm in diameter was generally higher in the center of the footprint than in the outer regions.