Microstructural evolution of alumina coatings by a novel long laminar plasma spraying method

Abstract

A super long and stable laminar plasma jet was used in the atmospheric plasma spray process in this work. Microstructures evolution and properties of alumina coatings that were obtained using a long spraying distance ranging from 200 mm to 350 mm in an atmospheric environment were studied in this work. These processes were carried out by using a total gas flow rate of 14 slpm with 70% nitrogen and 30% argon in volume and output power of 25.4 kW (current of 160 A). A long particle residence time was obtained in this study, which compared with other current atmospheric plasma spray methods. The microstructures of coatings showed the multi-island protrusions on the top surfaces and overlapped lamellar splats at the fracture surfaces. The microstructural evolution was significantly affected by the heating and motion behaviors of alumina particles when these were flowing in the long laminar plasma jet at different spraying distances.