Processing methods plasma spraying

Plasma spraying (PS) is a technology that has been widely used for coating both metals and ceramics [3]. In the present case, however, the spraying process is applied with the aim to form bulk material. Therefore we name the method plasma spray forming. 

Boron-reinfixced aluminum is a technologically mature continuous-fiber MMC (Fig. 2). Applications for this composite include tubular truss members in the mid-fiiselage structure of the space shuttle orbiter and cold plates in electronic microchip carrier multilayer boards. Fabrication processes for boron/aluminum composites are based on hot-press diffusion bonding of alternating layers of aluminum foil and boron fiber mats (foil-fiber-foil processing) or plasma-spraying methods. 

Despite the progress outlined in this chapter, much work remains to be done in the metal surface preparation arena. For example, there is still no ideal surface preparation method that does for steel what anodization processes do for aluminum and titanium. The plasma spray process looks encouraging but because it is slow for large areas and requires rather expensive robot controlled plasma spray equipment, its use will probably be limited to some rather special applications. For more general use, the sol-gel process has potential if future studies confirm recently reported results. 

In the field of metallic powder applications, a method of plasma spray coating suitable for biomedical materials has been developed using titanium and calcium phosphate composite powder. By means of the mechanical shock process, the appropriate composite powder was prepared, and plasma sprayed on Ti substrate under a low-pressure argon atmosphere. A porous Ti coating layer was obtained in which the surface and the inside of the pores were covered thinly with hydroxyapatite. This surface coating is expected to show excellent bone ingrowth and fixation with bone (21). 

There are two ways in which coatings can be applied thermomechanical processes (e.g. detonation gun, flame spraying and plasma spraying) and vapour phase deposition processes. The latter category can be subdivided into CVD (chemical vapour deposition) and PVD (physical vapour deposition). In the case of a CVD process, a chemical reaction takes place in an oven and as a result the coating material is formed and deposited on the object. Figures 11.7.9 and 11.7.10 are representations of two methods to apply coatings. 

Although the diffusion-reaction method may vary, the results of aluminization remain similar and depend on the steel composition and on the temperature of the reaction processing. Methods that have been used for steels include hot dipping, " - -29,34-37 plasma spraying, " - - pack aluminizing, which is a form of chemical vapor deposition vacuum evaporation, and polymer slurry methods." ... 

Several methods effectively apply thin coatings to substrates. One process commonly employed for TBC fabrication is thermal plasma spraying. For this technique, the bond coat is deposited with low-pressure plasma spraying, and the Zr02 top coat is then created using atmospheric plasma spraying.A potential problem with this method is coating fracture due... 

Coating and thin films can be applied by a number of methods. In thermal or plasma spraying, a ceramic feedstock, either a powder or a rod, is fed to a gun from which it is sprayed onto a substrate. For the process of physical vapor deposition (PVD), which is conducted inside an enclosed chamber, a condensed phase is introduced into the gas phase by either evaporation or by sputtering. It then deposits by condensation or reaction onto a substrate. A plasma environment is sometimes used in conjunction with PVD to accelerate the deposition process or to improve the properties of the film. For coatings or films made by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), gas phase chemicals in an appropriate ratio inside a chamber are exposed to a solid surface at high temperature when the gaseous species strike the hot surface, they react to form the desired ceramic material. CVD-type reactions are also used to infiltrate porous substrates [chemical vapor infiltration (CVI)]. For some applications, the CVD reactions take place in a plasma environment to improve the deposition rate or the film properties. 

Different methods used to prepare titanium diboride have been reviewed by Samsonov et al. (1975). At present, it is mainly produced as a powder by thermochemical reduction of boron and titanium oxides followed by hot pressing and sintering to process the final product. The less costly alternative appears to be to coat suitable substrate materials with TiB2 or TiB2-based composites by hot pressing, plasma spraying, chemical vapor deposition, etc. 

The range of processing techniques that can be employed to produce FGMs is also broad [1]. Vapor-phase methods e.g., CVD, CVI, and PVD methods), liquid-phase methods e.g., electrodeposition, sol-gel, plasma spraying and molten metal infiltration methods), and a variety of solid-phase methods based on powder metallurgy are available. The solid-state methods include powder stacking techniques, powder infiltration techniques, slurry techniques e.g., sedimentation... 

Plasma spraying is a consolidation process for powders with the additional capability of a composition control of the spray formed structures. The paper reports on the first steps to adapt this method to the production of functionally graded thermoelectric materials with a locally maximized figure of merit. Iron disilicide (FeSi2) was used to test the performance of the technique on thermoelectric material. It was found that plasma spray forming is applicable to produce dense materials with thermoelectric properties comparable to hot pressed ones. Problems were however found with the thermal stability of the microstructure. 

Another Ni-based solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) electrode was developed on which a YSZ (yttria-stabilized zirconia) cermet and Lanthanum chromite were deposited by a slurry coating method. It was also suggested that a plasma spraying process can be used for the cermet deposition on the electrodes. The following reactions are expected to take place in a fuel cell employing a natural gas source, where internal reforming takes place on the Ni-YSZ electrode ... 

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