Relationships Between Process Parameters, Microstructure, and Adhesion Strength of HVOF Sprayed IN718 Coatings

Fundamental understanding of relationships between process parameters, particle in-flight characteristics, and adhesion strength of HVOF sprayed coatings is important to achieve the high coating adhesion that is needed in aeronautic repair applications. In this study, statistical Design of Experiments (DoE) was used to identify the most important process parameters that influence adhesion strength of IN718 coatings sprayed on IN718 substrates. Special attention was given to the parameters combustion ratio, total gas mass flow, stand-off distance and external cooling, since these parameters were assumed to have a significant influence on particle temperature and velocity. Relationships between these parameters and coating microstructure were evaluated to fundamentally understand the relationships between process parameters and adhesion strength.