Abstract
Plasma spray deposition is one of the most important technologies available for producing the high–performance surfaces required by modern industry. Over the past 25 years, there have been significant advances in the understanding of plasma physics and in the development of spraying equipment and techniques. This has enabled a range of materials including metals, alloys, ceramics, and cermets to be plasma sprayed on to a great variety of substrate types and geometries. During this period, the uniquely aggressive environment within the gas turbine engine has provided not only some of the greatest challenges to plasma spraying technology, but also some of its most successful applications. In this paper, the nature of plasma and plasma spray devices are discussed and factors affecting coating quality are considered. Practical aspects of plasma spraying are considered and finally the application of plasma spray coating processes to the protection of high–temperature gas turbine components is discussed using as examples turbine blade overlay coating, coatings for hot gas path seals, and ceramic thermal barrier systems.
MST/282
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