Very Low Pressure Plasma Spray—A Review of an Emerging Technology in the Thermal Spray Community
Abstract
: A fundamentally new family of thermal spray processes has emerged. These new processes, collectively known as very low pressure plasma spray or VLPPS, differ from traditional thermal spray processes in that coatings are deposited at unusually low chamber pressures, typically less than ∼800 Pa (6 Torr). Depending upon the specific process, deposition may be in the form of very fine molten droplets, vapor phase deposition, or a mixture of vapor and droplet deposition. Resulting coatings are similar in quality to coatings produced by alternative coating technologies, such as physical vapor deposition (PVD) or chemical vapor deposition (CVD), but deposition rates can be roughly an order of magnitude higher with VLPPS. With these new process technologies modified low pressure plasma spray (LPPS) systems can now be used to produce dense, high quality coatings in the 1 to 100 micron thickness range with lamellar or columnar microstructures. A history of pioneering work in VLPPS technology is presented, deposition mechanisms are discussed, potential new applications are reviewed, and challenges for the future are outlined.1. Introduction
2. Origins of Very Low Pressure Plasma Spraying
3. Operating an LPPS System at Pressures Below 1.3 kPa (10 Torr)
4. Plasma Jet Properties at Very Low Chamber Pressures
5. Coating Examples (PS-PVD and PS-TF)
6. Other Feedstock Delivery Approaches
7. New Applications and Opportunities for VLPPS
8. Open Questions—Needed Additional Research
9. Summary
Acknowledgments
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Smith, M.F.; Hall, A.C.; Fleetwood, J.D.; Meyer, P. Very Low Pressure Plasma Spray—A Review of an Emerging Technology in the Thermal Spray Community. Coatings 2011, 1, 117-132. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings1020117
Smith MF, Hall AC, Fleetwood JD, Meyer P. Very Low Pressure Plasma Spray—A Review of an Emerging Technology in the Thermal Spray Community. Coatings. 2011; 1(2):117-132. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings1020117
Chicago/Turabian StyleSmith, Mark F., Aaron C. Hall, James D. Fleetwood, and Philip Meyer. 2011. "Very Low Pressure Plasma Spray—A Review of an Emerging Technology in the Thermal Spray Community" Coatings 1, no. 2: 117-132. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings1020117
APA StyleSmith, M. F., Hall, A. C., Fleetwood, J. D., & Meyer, P. (2011). Very Low Pressure Plasma Spray—A Review of an Emerging Technology in the Thermal Spray Community. Coatings, 1(2), 117-132. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings1020117