High Efficiency Deposition of the Porous Ceramic Abradable Coating using a High Energy Plasma Torch

A high energy plasma torch with 3-cathode was used to improve the deposition efficiency of the porous YSZ abradable coating. The influence of the plasma power, feeding rates and the spray distance on the coating porosity and deposition efficiency were investigated. The surface hardness and thermal shock resistance of the porous YSZ coating was evaluated. It is found that the coating porosity can reach 30~40% and the deposition efficiency can be improved three times of the conventional plasma torch. The thermal shock resistance of the coating is close to the reported data while the coating hardness is higher than the conventional ceramic abradable.