February AMP_Digital

iTSSe TSS A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 1 9 4 1 iTSSe TSS of achieving increased engine perfor- mance. Research institutes like the Na- tional Research Council of Canada’s industrial consortium Surftec are ex- panding theboundaries of thermal spray to help develop these advanced coat- ings. Figure 6 shows an example of some of their recent work. Much of their efforts involve utilizing new technologies such as cold spraying of MCrAlY bond coatings and suspension plasma spraying (SPS) of YSZ top coatings. SPS uses fine nano to fewmicron sized powders that cannot be fed in traditional thermal spray pow- der hoppers. In SPS, these fine powders are suspended in a liquid and then fed into a plasma spray device. The liquid evaporates and the fine particles are then melted by the plasma and depos- ited. Unique coating structures like the one shown in Fig. 6 are now being inves- tigated in several environmental tests. CONCLUSION Thermal spray coatings can be found in many other industries as well and are designed into a nearly endless number of applications. The versatile spray technologies have provided sev- eral enhancements such as improved wear and corrosion resistance, electrical insulation and conductivity, high tem- perature protection, reduced friction, and other properties. As a result of mate- rials being engineered for ever more de- manding applications, the technology is poised to grow. This will continue to help the materials engineering community meet the demands of the future. ~iTSSe For more information: Bill Lenling, chief technical officer, TST Engineered CoatingSolutions Inc., 515ProgressWay, Sun Prairie, WI 53590, 608.318.5065, blenling@tstcoatings.com, www.tstcoatings.com. 7 FEATURE