Effects of Plume Quenching on Controlled Atmosphere Plasma Sprayed Metals

Thermal spray processes benefit from workpiece cooling to prevent overheating of the substrate and to retain metallurgical properties (e.g., temper). Cold-gas “plume quenching” is a plume-targeting cooling technique, where an argon curtain is directed laterally above the substrate surface to re-direct high temperature gases without impacting particle motion. However, there has been little investigation of its effect on the molten particles and the resulting coating properties. This study examined high- and medium- density tantalum and nickel coatings, fabricated by Controlled Atmosphere Plasma Spray with and without plume quenching on aluminum and titanium substrates. To compare the effect of plume quenching, the deposition efficiency was calculated through coating mass gain, and the coating density, stiffness, residual stress, and adhesion were measured.

The tantalum and nickel coatings were largely unaffected by plume quenching with respect to deposition efficiencies, coating density, adhesion, and stiffness. Plume quenching generally reduced residual stress amongst all coating/substrate pairings. These results indicate that a plume quench could be used without affecting the coating properties for high- and medium-density metals while providing the benefit of substrate cooling that increases with higher plume quench gas flow rates.