Densification of plasma-sprayed titanium and tantalum coatings

Thermal spraying of corrosion- resistant coatings of titanium and tantalum is difficult; dense coatings are not produced, and oxidation of these metals increases coating porosity. In this study, oxidation during plasma spraying was reduced with a shrouding system. Porosity and oxide content also were minimized by optimizing the spraying parameters. After optimization, the coatings still had open porosity and thus were incapable of protecting the substrate material against corrosion in water solutions containing 3 % NaCl. Therefore, posttreatments for improvement of corrosion resistance were studied. Electron beam fusion produced corrosion resistance equal to or better than that of bulk commercial samples of titanium and tantalum.