Plasma spraying using liquid feedstock (solution and suspension) makes it possible to produce thin coatings (< 100µm) with more refined microstructures than in conventional plasma spraying. The liquid feedstock can be injected mechanically in the plasma jet as a liquid stream or a droplet jet or it can be atomized before injection in the plasma flow. In any case, the low density of the feedstock droplets makes them very sensitive to the instantaneous characteristics of the fluctuating plasma jet at the location where they are injected.
In this study the interactions between the fluctuating plasma jet and the droplets are explored by using numerical simulations. The computations are based on a three-dimensional and time-dependent model of the plasma jet and injected droplets that couples the dynamic behavior of the arc inside the torch and the plasma jet issuing from the plasma torch.