Splat formation of copper and copper alloy on ceramic substrate in plasma spray process

In the present work, we have examined the role of active elements in controlling the extent of splashing of plasma sprayed splats. Splats of Copper (Cu) and Copper alloys with Al, Zr were deposited by plasma spray or as free-falling droplets. The splat formation and splat-substrate interfaces were characterised using SEM and FIB. It was found that the presence of Zr either in the splat material or the substrate enhanced disk splat formation in free falling droplets. Similarly the presence of aluminium in plasma sprayed CuAl increased the portion of favourable disk-shaped splats compared to the pure copper. It was also found that the disk-shaped splat proportion of CuAl at room temperature is nearly identical to that of Cu splat at 300⁰C, indicating that the addition of Al in the alloy leads to the improvement of splat formation, correlating with the improvement in the interface bonding with the substrate.