Publications Details
Modeling of the vacuum plasma spray process
Experimental and analytical studies have been conducted to investigate gas, particle, and coating dynamics in the vacuum plasma spray (VPS) process for a tungsten powder. VPS coatings were examined metallographically and the results compared with the model`s predictions. The plasma was numerically modeled from the cathode tip to the spray distance in the free plume for the experimental conditions of this study. This information was then used as boundary conditions to solve the particle dynamics. The predicted temperature and velocity of the powder particles at standoff were then used as initial conditions for a coating dynamics code. The code predicts the coating morphology for the specific process parameters. The predicted characteristics exhibit good correlation with the observed coating properties.