Thermal Spray: Current Status and Future Trends

Abstract
Thermal spray is a continuous, directed, melt-spray process in which particles (e.g., 1–50 μm in diameter) of virtually any material are melted and accelerated to high velocities, through either a combustion flame or a dc or rf nontransferred thermal-plasma arc. The molten or semimolten droplets impinge on a substrate and rapidly solidify to form a thin “splat.” The deposit is built up by successive impingement and interbonding among the splats. The splats accumulate into a wellbonded deposit, generally > 10 μm thick.