Polymer Thermal Spraying: A Novel Coating Process

A novel coating process, Polymer Thermal Spray (PTS) that utilizes a non-combustion and non-plasma based thermal spray process has been designed and developed.  This new process was specifically developed to accommodate the deposition of heat sensitive polymeric materials on a broad range of substrates. The PTS process utilizes an electro-resistive element for rigorous temperature control and for heating the main process gas including air, inert or other gases. Mathematical models for polymer particle heating and acceleration in hot gas stream have been used as a basis for optimization of the spray process and equipment design. As a result, during the coating process, polymer particle are not exposed to the temperature that is above preset polymer processing temperature, either in-flight, or on the substrate. The following case studies demonstrating the use of PTS coating system for the deposition of advanced polymer coatings and structures were presented: (i) Explosive blast mitigation membrane for protection of civil structures, (ii) Super-hydrophobic coatings for corrosion protection, and (iii) Spray forming of syntactic foams and open cell polymer structures.