A Review of Clearance Control Wear Mechanisms for Low Temperature Aluminium Silicon Alloys

Aluminium silicon alloys have shown favourable properties when used as the matrix for abradable coatings in low pressure compressors of gas turbines [1 and 2]. This paper aims to describe the wear mechanisms found in aluminium silicon based abradables. To this end three thermally sprayed coatings are investigated. Aluminium silicon polyester, aluminium silicon-graphite and the most recently developed, aluminium silicon-hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) examined here are amongst a few of these materials. To be able to design materials to functi?n in as wide a parameter range as possible, a test ng simulating engine mechanisms is required. Tests were conducted using titanium blades at velocities ranging from 250 - 450 m/s, temperatures of ambient to 450°C and controlled incursion rate of 5, 50 and 500 µm/s. The data obtained from these tests is best interpreted in the form of wear maps which characterise the seal performance and therefore are of use to engine and material designers.

Degradation of In-Flight PMMA Particles During Thermal Spraying

Kinetic and heat transfer analysis have been undertaken in order to predict the decomposition of polymer feedstock particles during thermal spraying. Thermogravimetric measurements indicated that the decomposition of PMMA had an order of reaction of unity and an activation energy of 135 kJ mol-1. The polymer decomposition temperature is shown to be a function of the particle residence time in the flame and is much higher than in conventional polymer processing. This has an important influence on process modelling, since the choice of decomposition temperature used in the heat transfer analysis has a major effect on the calculated temperature profiles. The work shows that realistic predictive data can only be obtained by using the dynamic decomposition temperature. Application of the model indicates that only the surface layers of the polymer feedstock particles undergo significant decomposition during plasma spraying and that the feedstock injection position is an important control parameter.

Thermal Spraying of High Performance Thermoplastics

Thermally sprayed coatings of high performance thermoplastics are of interest espacially for the chemical industry for anti-corrosion applications at elevated temperatures. In this paper coatings of polyetherether-keton (PEEK) and polyphenylen-sulphide (PPS) have been produced by simple flamespraying. They have been investigated by optical metallography, FT-IR analysis and DSC-analysis. Among the coating properties also the "in-flight" particles have been studied by wipe-tests and FT-IR analysis in order to assess possible decomposition effects during spraying.

Phases Transformations in Laser Treated Hydroxyapatite Coatings

The hydroxyapatite Ca10(PO4)6OH2 (HAP) was plasma sprayed onto titanium alloy substrate. The samples having thickness of about 150 µm ware sprayed in a way to obtain two different content of crystalline HAP: 25 an 30 %. The coatings ware subsequently submitted to laser treatment with the CO2 laser. The treatment was carried out with different laser powers and scanning velocities and resulting thereof sample surface temperatures and the kinetics of the thermal fields ware monitored with a pyrometer. The XRD method enabled verification of the crystallinity state of HAP, content of amorphous calcium phosphate and the content of foreign phases. Optical microscope was used to check the microstructure and the depth of laser modified zone.

Modelling of Coating Thickness, Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow and It's Correlation with the TBC Microstructure for a Plasma Sprayed Gas Turbine Application

The plasma spray deposition of a zirconia thermal barrier coating (TBC) on a gas turbine component has been examined using analytical and experimental techniques. The coating thickness was simulated by the use of commercial off-line programming software. The impinging jet was modelled by means of a finite difference elliptic code using a simplified turbulence model. Powder particle velocity, temperature history and trajectory were calculated using a stochastic discrete particle model. The heat transfer and fluid flow model were then used to calculate transient coating and substrate temperatures using the finite element method. The predicted thickness, temperature and velocity of the particles and the coating temperatures were compared with these measurements and good correlations were obtained. The coating microstructure was evaluated by optical and scanning microscopy techniques. Special attention was paid to the crack structures within the top coating. Finally, the correlation between the modelled parameters and the deposit microstructure was studied.

Effects of Gun Nozzle Geometry on High Velocity Oxygen-Fuel (HVOF) Thermal Spraying Process

Effect of nozzle geometry (such as throat diameter of a barrel nozzle, exit diameter and exit divergence angle of a divergent nozzle) on HVOF thermal spraying process (thermodynamical behavior of combustion gas and spray particles) was investigated by numerical simulation and experiments with Jet KoteTM II system. The process changes inside the nozzle as obtained by numerical simulation studies were related to the coating properties. A NiCrAIY alloy powder was used for the experimental studies. While the throat diameter of the barrel nozzle was found to have only a slight effect on the microstructure, hardness, oxygen content and deposition efficiency of the coatings, the change in divergent section length (rather than exit diameter and exit divergence angle) had a significant effect. With increase in divergent section length of the nozzle, the amount of oxide content of the NiCrAIY coatings decreased and the deposition efficiency increased significantly. Also, with increase in the exit diameter of the divergent nozzle, the gas temperature and the degree of melting of the particle decreased. On the other hand the calculated particle velocity showed a slight increase while the gas velocity increased significantly.

Comprehensive Methods for Studying Microinhomogeneity in Thermal Spray Coatings with Amorphous-Crystalline Structure

An integrated approach was developed for investigation of thermal spray coatings with the amorphous-crystalline structure. The new approach combines methods of metallography, differential thermal and X-ray phase analysis, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis. This makes it possible to reveal structural, phase and chemical heterogeneity, determine the degree of amorphization of coatings, temperature and heat of crystallization of the amorphous phase during heating. The new integrated approach was used to study amorphous-crystalline coatings of the Ni-P, Fe-Ni-B and Fe-B systems produced by thermal spraying.

QS-9000 – Using the Automotive Requirements to Improve Existing ISO 9000 Systems

In this paper, we will discuss how to incorporate several of the QS-9000 quality system requirements into an existing ISO 9000 quality system. This expansion of the existing quality system will be cost effective and ensure that the continuous improvement program will meet its goals. The QS-9000 quality system was developed in 1994 by the "Big Three" automotive and truck producers in Detroit, Michigan. This document, originated in the United States, is based upon the International Standard: ISO 9001-94. It is mandatory that any supplier of goods and/or services to either Chrysler, Ford or General Motors must have their quality system registered to the QS-9000 standard. We believe that there can be benefits to non-automotive organizations if they will incorporate some of the QS-9000 clauses into their current ISO 9000 quality systems. We will discuss actual cases in the following areas: purchasing, safety, process control, training, business management and continuous improvement. We will show how these examples of quality system enhancement are both effective and efficient ways of driving cost reduction and process improvement programs. Cost of quality initiatives can be better managed.

Non-Contact Coating Thickness Measurement

There are many instances of coatings that require a nondestructive and non-contact measure of coating thickness as part of a quality control system. Specifically, this paper reports on experiments carried out on non-contact measurements of MCrAIY and TBC coatings. The system uses an infra red beam from a solid state laser to generate a thermal wave in the coating. When this wave reaches the substrate an interference effect is caused. The modulated input heating produces a modulated output infra red signal from the surface and at a different wavelength from the laser beam. The output signal has a phase difference from the input signal which is related to the coating thickness. As neither the laser nor the detector are in contact with the surface of the coating and the temperature of the coating is raised by only a few degrees this represents a non-contact NDE system. This system has been tested across a range of coating/substrate combinations. In this paper we give examples of MCrAIY and TBC coatings applied to engine components demonstrating that the accuracy of measurement is only limited by the roughness of the coating structure and substrate. The use of this system for on-line measurement during the spraying process is also discussed and results presented.

Investigations of the Fracture of Composites Matrix-Coating Under Tension

Deformation stages and specific features were studied by mesomechanical methods under tension of plasma sprayed coating-steel matrix composites. The effect of coating quality on the deformation of the matrix at the mesolevel was revealed. The results obtained make it possible to predict reliability and durability of this kind of coating and of the entire composite.