Splat is the term given to a single impacted droplet/particle, as illustrated in the diagram. Many overlapping splats solidify and adhere to one another to form a continuous coating layer. Thus, the splat is the basic structural building block in thermal spray coatings.
Splats are created when the accelerated, molten particles impact a substrate surface or previously deposited coating material. The arriving molten droplets are generally spherical, and on impact, they spread over and fill the underlying interstices (spaces). The droplets become flattened, disk-like structures.
Volume 5A, Thermal Spray Technology ⇒ Thermal Spray Processes and Coatings ⇒ Coating Structures, Properties, and Materials
