D. Waldbillig, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; O. Kesler, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Plasma spraying is a deposition technique that produces good quality, fully sintered coatings at high deposition rates. Coatings with finer microstructures and controlled porosity can be produced by modifying the plasma spray system to use a suspension of micro to nanosized powders as the feedstock. These qualities make suspension plasma spraying an interesting, novel manufacturing technique to fabricate solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) active layers. In the present study, layers of fully stabilized yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) that could be used as an SOFC electrolyte were deposited using an axial injection suspension plasma spray system. The effect of spraying parameters such as plasma gas flow rate, plasma composition, and arc current, and of suspension parameters such as solid and suspension feed rates on coating parameters such as microstructure, permeation rate, and deposition efficiency was examined. Optimal spraying and suspension conditions were developed in order to produce coatings with low porosity and high deposition efficiency.
Summary: Suspension plasma spraying is a promising technique for the production of coatings with fine microstructures and controlled porosity. These properties, combined with plasma spraying’s ability to produce layers rapidly without requiring a post-deposition heat treatment, make this an interesting new manufacturing method to produce solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) active layers. This study uses an axial injection suspension plasma spray system to produce layers of fully stabilized yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) that could be used as an SOFC electrolyte.
