Researchers from Concordia University and Tecnar Automation presented a discussion of a new diagnostic system for suspension plasma spray (SPS) at ASM International’s ITSC 2019 conference in Japan. They focused on the challenges associated with the transition of a new technology from the R&D lab to commercial production.
In particular, monitoring the characteristics of in-flight particles during the SPS coating process is essential for two domains, and it improves the repeatability and reproducibility of the coatings. To ensure the accuracy of these measurements, the latest 4.0 version of the Accuraspray diagnostic tool has been adapted for the SPS process to measure velocity and temperature of the in-flight particles.
Previous versions of the system were designed for monitoring atmospheric plasma spray (APS), and used double point measurement to calculate the temperature. However, in the new version, the temperature reading has been improved for SPS by applying a single point measurement and enhanced signal filtering.
In this study, the temperature and velocity of the in-flight particles were measured and compared by two versions of Accuraspray. Validity of temperature measurement was investigated by studying collected splats. The size and shape of splats was correlated to the online acquired temperature. The study showed that the new diagnostic system is correctly adjusted to the small size of particles and severe plasma spray conditions.
Title: Accuraspray 4.0 to Characterize In-flight Particles in SPS Process
Authors: Mr. Ali Akbarnozari, Prof. Christian Moreau, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec.
Mr. Olivier Bamber, Mr. Jean-David Grenon, Mr. Marc Choquet, Mr. Luc Pouliot, Tecnar Automation Ltd., St-Bruno, Quebec.
