TSS August 2006

SM

Volume 1 • Issue 2
ASM Thermal Spray Society Your Thermal Spray
An Affiliate Society of ASM International ® Information Partner

I N T E R N A T I O N A L
Thermal Spray &
Surface Engineering TM

T H E O F F I C I A L N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E A S M T H E R M A L S P R AY S O C I E T Y

State of the
Society

Industry News

Successful
Consultant/Client
Relationships

Winning
Alternative to
Hard Chrome
Plating

C OSHA
ITS 6
200 nt
Hexavalent
Eve rage Chromium
e
Cov Regulation

www.asminternational.org/tss
August 2006 • Volume 1 • Issue 2

TM

7 The Hybrid Spray System Editor Christopher Berndt

P.S. Mohanty, D. Kosikowski, and J. Stanisic Managing Editor Mary Anne Fleming
High speed camera photo of the Art Director Barbara L. Brody
HVOF/Arc hybrid gun during Production Manager Joanne Miller
mode I operation. Associate Publisher Lana Shapowal
Sales
East Coast/Eastern Canada
Mike Sellaroli
8 How to Characterize a Thermal Spray Coating Columbus, Ohio
tel: 614/268-5260;
Using Electron Microscropy email: mike.sellaroli@asminternational.org
Doug Puerta
Midwest/West Coast/Western Canada
9 Spray Shop: Focus on Monitor Coatings Lana Shapowal
Materials Park, Ohio
10 A Winning Alternative to Hard Chrome tel: 440/338-5151, ext. 5647
In Deep Bore Applications email: lana.shapowal@asminternational.org
P. Ruggiero and Marc Froning
Thermal Spray Society Executive
12 OSHA Hexavalent Chromium Regulation Committee
Richard Knight, President
Daryl Crawmer
Christopher C. Berndt, Past President
13 Successful Consultant/Client Relationships Peter Hanneforth, Vice President
William J. Lenling, Secretary/Treasurer
R.C. Tucker, Jr.
Thomas S. Passek, Executive Director
15 Better Performance of Plasma Thermal Spray About the cover
Ronald J. Molz, Richard J. McCullough, and Torsten Wintergerste Wire arc processing from a TAFA 8860 Arc
Spray gun during atomization evaluation
18 Nanocomposite Materials: An Innovative Turnover trials, property of Praxair Surface
for the Wire Arc Spraying Technology Technologies and Tafa Incorporated. See
the article “Nanocomposite Materials:
P. Georgieva, R. Thorpe, A. Yanski, and S. Seal
An Innovative Turnover for the Wire Arc
100MXC nanostructured coating Spraying Technology” by P. Georgieva,
shows higher density and better properties R. Thorpe, A. Yanski, and S. Seal,
than the conventional 95MXC coating. beginning on page 18.

International Thermal Spray & Surface EngineeringTM

is published quarterly by ASM International®, 9639
Kinsman Road, Materials Park, OH 44073; tel:
440/338-5151; www.asminternational.org. Vol. 1, No.
20 Thermal Spray Celebrates Centennial Anniversary 2. Copyright© 2006 by ASM International®. All rights
at ITSC 2006 reserved.

Peter Hanneforth The acceptance and publication of manuscripts in

International Thermal Spray & Surface Engineering

Departments does not imply that the editors or ASM International®

accepts, approves, or endorses the data, opinions,
2 Editorial and conclusions of the authors. Although manu-
scripts published in International Thermal Spray &
3 Industry News Surface Engineering are intended to have archival sig-
24 International Updates nificance, author’s data and interpretations are fre-
quently insufficient to be directly translatable to spe-
25 Members Corner cific design, production, testing, or performance
26 JTST Highlights applications without independent examination and
verification of their applicability and suitability by pro-
28 Calendar fessionally qualified personnel.
iTSSe
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006 51 1
 STATE OF THE SOCIETY
GUEST EDITORIAL

he Thermal Spray Society (TSS) has grown and prospered since the last International Thermal
T Spray Conference & Exposition (ITSC) was held in the U.S. in Orlando in 2003. Membership
since 2004 has grown, with a total membership of 1,500 expected by the end of this year. TSS’s
financial history is also positive. Revenues have stayed ahead of expenses over the past three
years, and we expect this trend to continue.
Next year, we will again make history with ITSC 2007 in Beijing, enabling thermal spray technol-
ogy to reach new markets in a global marketplace. This will be the first ITSC event organized under
our new partnership agreement with the DVS.
The Thermal Spray Handbook has been very successful with more than 640 copies sold so far.
What began as a revision of the written lessons of the Thermal Spray Home Study course grew into
something much more than that, including updated photographs and new areas such as cold
spray. My students are always borrowing my own copy, and I have to make sure that it comes back
each time! Another outcome of the TSS Training Committee’s efforts is our Practical Learning Series
modules – something we can market more aggressively, especially the module on safety.
I’m particularly proud of the way our TSS Safety Committee has made thermal spray safety infor-
mation available to the overall community. As a professional society, TSS has a responsibility to be
proactive in making this kind of information available to everyone. I would encourage the industry
leaders of the thermal spray community to step up and sponsor the distribution of this important
safety information.
With the ITSC event taking place here in North America every three years, we’ve also found
opportunities for programming activities that are more focused and regional. These have included
the Cold Spray meeting and the Sensors & Controls meeting, both in 2004, and the Combustion
Turbines Coatings regional meeting in 2005. We are looking to repeat these successes, add to
them, and create a standardized model.
The TSS Accepted Practices Committee on Metallography has also made good progress. They
are looking at a series of commonly-used coating materials, using enough samples that they can
do a “round-robin” series of evaluations, polished by different labs, then analyzed and compared
on a statistical basis. The committee is then publishing the results as an Accepted Practice.
I would also like to cite the continued success of the Thermal Spray Discussion
President’s Note:
This second issue of iTSSe Listserv. We are always vigilant to prevent overly commercial messages from
sees Chris Berndt, TSS appearing on the listserv, but TSS is generally pleased with the quality of the
Past President and former material and the willingness of TSS members to offer help and advice.
editor of the Journal of TSS has developed a new newsletter, International Thermal Spray and Surface
Thermal Spray Technology Engineering or iTSSe, launched during ITSC 2006 in Seattle. Initially iTSSe will be
(JTST), taking over the role
of technical editor from bundled with ASM’s Advanced Materials & Processes magazine, so it will reach
TSS President Rick Knight. From the out- a sizable reader market and help us to achieve our goals of promoting TSS,
set TSS wished for a long-term editor; advancing thermal spray technology, and serving the interests of our members.
however, initially it was more important to So where does TSS see itself in the future? We are very excited about the
publish the inaugural issue in time for ITSC “proof of concept” of the Integrated Enterprise web platform for TSS members.
2006. With that accomplished, the TSS
leadership was able to focus on identifying This will benefit our members, becoming your individualized portal to the world of
someone with the right experience and thermal spray.
technical background to take over, and The success of TSS is a team effort. It’s all the people and the chairs and the
who better than Chris Berndt? Chris brings participants, all the people who support us at ASM, all of our members, who
his many years of editorial experience with enable things to happen. As TSS President, it has been a pleasure and an honor
JTST to the table, and through his contin-
ued involvement with JTST as chair of the to work with everyone to achieve progress for our membership and for the entire
Editorial Committee, will be able to mini- thermal spray community.
mize overlap between the two ASM-TSS
publications, thus benefiting both iTSSe
and JTST. Currently located at James
Cook University in Australia, Chris is well
positioned technically and geographically Richard Knight, FASM
to ensure that iTSSe is truly international in
2004-06 President, ASM Thermal Spray Society
its coverage.
– Rick Knight Based on the President’s Address at the ASM Thermal Spray Society
membership meeting at ITSC 2006 in Seattle
iTSSe
2 52 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006
 INDUSTRY NEWS
Hardfacing products keep industrial parts strong
In industries that use heavy-duty parts for mixing, grinding, or other techniques that subject the tools
to significant wear and tear, anti-abrasion protection is imperative. Technogenia, a manufacturer of
hardfacing products, has developed a special tungsten-carbide powder known as Spherotene that,
when deposited on the tool’s surface, provides exceptional anti-abrasion solutions. The carbide parti-
cles are applicable by a welded-on cast-nickel cord, thermal spray, special castings, or precision laser,
providing almost 10 times a longer service life than with more traditional chrome-carbide hardfacing.
The tungsten-carbide hardfacing forms a metallurgical bond with the base metal on the part to pro-
tect against wear and impact. The Spherotene powders consist of spherical particles of monocrystalline
tungsten carbide that are extremely hard, between 1800 and 4000 HV (Vickers Hardness). The appli-
cable cords, TECHNOSPHERE and TECHNODUR, are reels of flexible, nickel-core wire coated with
Spherotene. These two types differ in carbide hardness and are available in diameters ranging from .1
to .5 in. to be welded to parts with an oxy torch for achieving the desired degree of anti-abrasion and
impact protection.
The powders can also be applied as a thermal spray, using an oxy torch. The Technokit 2000 is avail-
able for this hardfacing method, which is useful for thin application, glassworks industries, or even to
serve as a rust-inhibiting undercoat.
For more information: TECHNOGENIA, Guy Maybon, 325 Westinghouse Blvd., Charlotte, NC
Fig. 1 – Bucket wheel teeth after appli-
28273-6223; tel: 704/587-7107; technogenia@technogenia.fr; www.technogenia.fr.
cation of tungsten-carbide hardfacing
cord by welding

TiN coating
offers increased
durability,
abrasion
resistance
A new line of Holtest bore gages from
Mitutoyo America Corporation employs a
titanium nitride coating to offer increased
durability and abrasion resistance while
making high accuracy, three-point bore
diameter measurements.
Fig. 2 – Welding a tungsten-carbide hardfacing cord to a fan blade The measuring pin contact faces of the
Mitutoyo Holtest and Digimatic Holtest
Powder coating educational seminar models of bore gages are coated with tita-
nium nitride. As a result, the pins can be
offered to colleges made of hardened steel instead of more
The Powder Coating Institute (PCI) has developed a one-hour multimedia presentation for college brittle carbide, providing extra toughness
students on the powder coating process, which is available to travel to the classroom at no charge. The to reduce the likelihood of contact faces
presentation covers the process, related equipment, and features and uses of powder coating, and con- being chipped during measurement.
sists of a brief video, display samples of powders and powder coated parts, and live instruction by a The three-point design of the Holtest bore
powder coating industry expert with a Powerpoint demonstration, along with a follow-up Q&A ses- gages assures smooth, highly stable
sion. Students will receive full-color handouts illustrating the basics and benefits of powder coating measurement in the ranges above 8mm
technology, and the professor will receive a complimentary copy of Powder Coating – The Complete bore diameter while a constant-force
Finisher’s Handbook, the 500-page powder coating textbook published by PCI. ratchet minimizes measurement variations
For more information: Jeff Palmer, PCI Communications Director, The Powder Coating Institute, between different operators. Optional
2121 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite 401, Alexandria, VA 22314; 703/684-1770; jpalmer@powdercoating. extension rods can be fitted to enable
org; www.powdercoating.org. measurement of deeper holes.
For more information: Mitutoyo Amer-
ica Corporation, 965 Corporate Boulevard,
Victrex launches two series of coatings Aurora, IL 60504; tel: 630/978-5385;
A new product line, VICOTE Coatings, has the potential to extend the life of automotive, industri- info@mitutoyo.com; www.mitutoyo.com.
al, consumer cookware, and food processing applications by between 50% and 200% when compared
with traditional fluoropolymer coatings due to excellent scratch, wear, heat, and chemical resistance, says Victrex. The key ingredient of VICOTE
Coatings is VICTREX PEEK polymer, a linear, aromatic, semi-crystalline polymer.
VICOTE Coatings offer excellent adhesion to the substrate, negating the need for a primer during the coating process. This and the ability to
achieve very thin coatings contribute to reductions in systems costs.
VICOTE Coatings 700 Series is a range of powders for electrostatic coating depending on the coating thickness required. VICOTE Coatings 800
SERIES are completely new dispersions where thinner coatings are required or where difficult geometries must be coated and which have been for-
mulated to enhance the properties of the pure VICOTE products.
For more information: Dave Wiggins, Victrex USA Inc., 3A Caledon Court, Greenville, SC 29615, tel: 215/412-8287; dwiggins@victrex.com;
www.victrex.com.
iTSSe

ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006 53 3

 INDUSTRY NEWS Metallisation system
protects future of hotel
Anti Corrosion Protective Systems (APS), based in Dubai,
chose the Metallisation Arcspray equipment as the preferred
system to protect the Burj Al Arab hotel, after being awarded
the contract from the Jumeirah Group to spray the vital struc-
tural components of the hotel frame to protect against corro-
sion. In total 10,000m2 of steelwork was arc sprayed over an
intermittent six-month period. The surface was first grit blast-
ed to SA 2.4 cleanliness and then sprayed with 150Pm of alu-
minum using Metallisation’s Arcspray 140 and Arcspray 700
systems. An epoxy sealer and three coat paint system was then
applied for aesthetic reasons and finished with a topcoat of 50
microns of polyurethane. The aluminum coating should guar-
antee a 15-20 year protection against corrosion in the harsh,
coastal environment.
In the Arcspray process the raw material, in the form of a pair
of metallic wires, is melted by an electric arc. This molten
material is atomized by a cone of compressed air and propelled
toward the work piece. The molten spray solidifies on the component
surface to form a dense, strongly adherent coating.
Metallisation’s newest system, the Arcspray 170, offers high through-
put with large diameter wires (1/8” and 3/16”) and is the recommended
system for large scale, anti-corrosion applications. The Arc 170’s patent-
ed Synchrodrive push/pull system has no motor in the pistol, resulting in
a lighter hand-held spray gun, which has a 10m wire dispense distance.
The 700Amp energizer is designed with a harsh environment in mind,
with all control electronics sealed from dust intrusion.
For more information: Stuart Milton, Metallisation, Pear Tree Lane,
Dudley, West Midlands, DY2 0XH, England; tel: +44 1384 252 464;
sales@metallisation.com; www.metallisation.com.
Thermally sprayed golf clubs
achieve improved backspin
SpinPro, a technologically advanced hard and wear resistant coating
applied to the clubface of short irons and wedges to improve backspin
up to 2.5 times, delivers high spin rate through a unique texture, defin-
itive surface roughness, and an optimized microstructure and modulus
of elasticity. LinSpray technology was developed by Linde AG, Linde
Gas Division, then put into practice at Linde’s Application Technology
Centre. The faces of different clubs were coated and the process opti-
mized to obtain the best possible result by using a special spraying
material and the required industrial gases as carriers of thermal and
kinetic energy. Sulzer Metco is the exclusive licensee of SpinPro golf
club coatings.
For more information: Peter Heinrich, Linde AG, Linde Gas
Division, Carl-von-Linde-Strasse 25, 85716 Unterschleissheim,
Germany; tel: 0049 89 31001 564; Peter.Heinrich@Linde-Gas.com;
www.spinpro.de.
The effect of a SPINPRO coated club
iTSSe
4 54
BRIEFS
The first Arcelor Prize for Innovation was awarded to the
“ARCEO” project. A partnership between Arcelor and the
Region of Wallonia, the project aims to develop a prototype
production line for a plasma vacuum process that coats steel
with innovative coatings, which introduce new functions such
as decorative finishes, with new metallic color and textures,
self-cleaning and bacteria-resistant surfaces, “smart” surfaces
(light emission or absorption), and protection including anti-cor-
rosion features. www.arcelor.com.
Wall Colmonoy Corporation has released a new data sheet
on Nicrobraz 31 brazing filler metal that includes data on burst
strength, composition, brazing range, oxidation resistance, and
application methods. Data sheet No. 2.1.7.1 may be down-
loaded from the Wall Colmonoy website. www.wallcolmonoy.
com
Bruno Allmendinger, CFO of Sulzer since 1998, wishes to take
early retirement in 2007. Peter Meier has been selected as his
successor. Meier, who joined the corporation in 1992, is cur-
rently head of Finance and Controlling at the Sulzer Metco divi-
sion. He will assume his new function on March 1, 2007.
www.sulzer.com
Michelman, a leading global manufacturer of performance
enhancing coatings headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio,
announces the acquisition of Fischer Pro, Inc. of Keokuk,
Iowa. Fischer Pro is a leading manufacturer of non-skid coat-
ing products for corrugated cartons, tier sheets and multi-wall
bags. The acquisition includes the manufacturing operation
located in Keokuk, all intellectual property, and sales.
www.michem.com
Hardcoat Anodizing, the latest in a series of informational fact
sheets on anodizing, has been released by the Aluminum
Anodizers Council (AAC). The one-page full-color fact sheet
combines process data and photographs representing fea-
tures, benefits, and applications of hardcoat anodizing.
www.anodizing.org
Southwest United Industries, Tulsa, OK has closed the pur-
chase of all outstanding shares of CEEL Limited, Brampton,
Ontario. CEEL provides hard chrome and sulfamate nickel plat-
ing services to aerospace, military, and general industrial cus-
tomers. Southwest’s top priority is to support the Canadian
aerospace community with the installation of HVOF thermal
spray coating and grinding into the CEEL facility with Ti-Cad
plating and additional processes to follow. www.swunited.
com
Integran Technologies Inc., Toronto, Ontario, has licensed its
nano Cobalt plating process to Enduro Industries Inc.,
Hannibal, Mo., for deployment as an alternative to hard chrome
plating in the fluid power market. A subsidiary of PTC Alliance,
Enduro is a major manufacturer of hard chrome steel bars and
tubes for the fluid power industry. Integran has granted Enduro
a license with limited exclusivity for the fluid power steel bar
and tube outside diameter coating market. www.integran.com
Morris Warino has been appointed Business Development
Manager for Wall Colmonoy Corporation (WCC), Oklahoma
City, which is part of the WCC Aeronautical and Aerospace
Group. www.wallcolmonoy.com
Williams Advanced Materials Inc. (WAM) announced a major
expansion of thin film chamber services at its Buffalo, N.Y.,
facility. Chamber services is an expanding part of WAM’s total
service element for its physical vapor deposition base. The
additional capacity will support the growing needs of WAM’s
Eastern U.S. customers within the semiconductor, microelec-
tronics, and data storage markets. www.williams-adv.com
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006

SUNY Stony Brook hosts Consortium on Thermal Spray
Lysa Russo
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, New York
For the past eight years, the NSF-MRSEC Center for Thermal
Spray Research at Stony Brook has been at the heart of a number
of exciting and fundamental initiatives to enhance the scientific
base of thermal spray coating technology. The Center welcomes
industrial participation, from sharing in research results to fund-
ed programs in specific study areas. The goal is to create a mutu-
ally beneficial arrangement; students and faculty develop an
industrially-relevant perspective and companies learn about cut-
ting-edge fundamental research.
Central to our outreach efforts is the Consortium on Thermal
Spray Technology, initiated in April 2002. Currently the
Consortium includes 16 leading thermal
spray involved companies, from powder
and equipment manufacturers to end-
users. All members help to formulate the
annual pre-competitive research goals,
which are carried out by senior CTSR
staff. The Consortium was founded on
the premise that thermal spray technolo-
gy offered a perfect platform for pre-
competitive, collaborative research proj-
ects between end-users (OEMS), appli-
cators, material and equipment develop-
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006
INDUSTRY NEWS
ers, and leading research institutions. Through combined
resources and expertise the group has tackled projects
ranging in scope from plasma optimization and mapping
of yttria stabilized zirconia ceramics to elastic/plastic
properties of HVOF, APS, and VPS sprayed superalloy
bond coats.
Annual training workshops and classes are also used as
a mechanism of keeping the group abreast of the latest
advances being made not only in thermal spray but surface
engineering as a whole. The coming year’s work expands
the use of process maps into hard chrome replacement
coatings, namely HVOF and APS applied tungsten carbide/
cobalt and nickel chrome/chrome carbide materials. The
goal is to understand parameter variables and their influ-
ence on resulting coating properties as they relate to a
given application. The Consor-
tium also provides a mechanism
to explore novel thermal spray applica-
tions, such as those in the electronics and
silicon chip manufacturing facilities and
military installations.
For more information on activities or mem-
bership: Lysa Russo, Stony Brook
University, Center for Thermal Spray
Research, Stony Brook, NY 11794; tel:
631/632-4567; lysa.russo@stonybrook.edu;
www.matscieng.sunysb.edu/ctsr.
iTSSe
55 5
 INDUSTRY NEWS New prismatic film boosts
brightness, hides moiré
for LCD screens
GE Plastics’ New Illuminex ADF film is a prismatic film that
provides manufacturers a superior alternative to existing materi-
als for LCD displays. Typical prism films often have issues with
moiré due to the pitch of the prism film and the pattern of the
LCD pixels. Frequently, a top diffuser and/or slight rotation of a
typical prism film must be used to minimize moiré. Illuminex
ADF film uses a patented, proprietary pattern to reduce this
moiré effect without having to rotate the film.
The film features excellent optical
properties that are created using
proprietary GE coatings applied to
a high-quality polycarbonate (PC)
optical film. With Illuminex ADF
film, customers have achieved
improved luminance of up to five
percent higher than best-in-class competi-
tors. Illuminex ADF film can be superior in
reliability to coated polyethylene tereph-
thalate (PET) film, offering performance
in high-temperature and high-humidity
environments due its higher Tg (130 C) of the base film. Further,
because they hide moiré and defects so effectively, Illuminex ADF films
may allow manufacturers to avoid adding a top diffuser film, lowering
system costs.
For more information: Christopher Tessier, GE Plastics, Pittsfield,
MA; tel: 413/448-6926; christopher.tessier@ge.com; www.geplastics.com.
iTSSe
6 56
Rolls-Royce and Japanese
Materials Institute
to develop superalloys
Rolls-Royce has launched a multi-year agreement with
Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) to
undertake research program into the development of high-
temperature superalloys for use in gas turbine engines. The
agreement brings into being the Rolls-Royce Centre of
Excellence for Aerospace Materials, based at NIMS’ Sengen
site in Tsukuba, north of Tokyo. It is the first scientific
research program the company has directly funded in Japan.
Both competitive and environmental benefits result from
increasing the temperature capabilities of materials
operating in the hottest parts of a gas turbine to improve
fuel efficiency, which in turn reduces the emissions of
carbon dioxide (CO2).
Working arrangements will closely follow those of the
network of Rolls-Royce University Technology Centres
(UTCs) that each undertake a range of projects for
Rolls-Royce in targeted technical areas and operate on
a long-term ‘rolling’ horizon of five years. Rolls-Royce
has worked with NIMS for around 15 years, during
which time they also collaborated with existing Rolls-
Royce UTCs. This is expected to continue during future
work programs – with Cambridge University, experi-
enced in the physics of blade alloys, Birmingham
University, which studies the castability of materials, and
Cranfield University that focuses on coatings developments.
For more information: Gary Atkins, Rolls-Royce plc; tel:
+44 (0)1332 248389; gary.atkins@rolls-royce.com; www.
rolls-royce.com.
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006
The Hybrid Spray System
P.S. Mohanty, D. Kosikowski, and J. Stanisic
Additive Manufacturing Process Laboratory (AMPL)
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Michigan-Dearborn
Dearborn, Michigan
any variants of thermal spraying technology exist. Among
M them, the high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spray, plasma
spray, and arc spray technology have found major appli-
cations in industry. HVOF spray results in hypersonic flame gas ve-
locities and powder particles attain high heat and high velocities.
This permits particle flattening upon striking the substrate, thus
forming a dense coating. Plasma spray (PS) technology has its own
niche applications, especially in spraying of ceramic/refractory ma-
terials. Although very high temperatures are obtained in the plume,
the particle velocities in plasma spray are lower than the HVOF
process. As a result, HVOF sprayed coatings often have proper-
ties superior to those of plasma sprayed coatings. The twin-wire arc-
spray process, on the other hand, is a widely used method for appli-
cation of low-cost metallic coatings. Coatings formed using electric
arc-spray guns are relatively less dense, but deposition rates are
much higher compared to the HVOF as well as the plasma process.
The Additive Manufacturing Process Laboratory (AMPL) at the
University of Michigan has recently embarked on an ambitious goal
of exploiting the benefits of the above-mentioned processes.1,2 The
so-called “hybrid process” combines electric arc and HVOF/PS
spraying; molten metal at the arc is atomized and rapidly propelled
to the substrate by a HVOF/PS jet. The “hybrid” concept offers many
advantages. The process offers all the benefits of wire stock and pro-
ductivity of arc spraying combined with the capabilities of HVOF/PS
processes. Besides producing high throughput dense coatings, the
gun can also tailor the composition of the coating by introducing
reinforcement particles (e.g. carbide) into the HVOF/PS jet, to cater
to specific property requirements such as a functionally graded ma-
terial (FGM).
Due to its flexible design (Fig. 1), the hybrid gun can operate in
many distinct modes. For example, in HVOF/arc coupling, the gun
can operate in partial-hybrid mode (I), where the material is intro-
duced via arcing of wires only. The robustness of the hybrid gun al-
lows it to be operated in two-wire arc or four-wire arc mode. In full-
hybrid mode (II), the material
is introduced through both
arcing of wires and as a
powder or wire through the
HVOF feed line. In HVOF
mode (III), the material is fed
as either a powder or a single
Fig. 1 – Schematic view of the HVOF/Arc wire to the HVOF gun. In this
hybrid gun. mode the hybrid gun is essen-
tially a typical HVOF gun. In arc mode (IV), the propylene and
oxygen gases are replaced with air or nitrogen leading to a typical
arc gun.
The multitude of interdependent process parameters results in a
range of particle characteristics within the spray plume. Some ob-
servations of the DPV-2000 system are summarized here. In mode
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006
I, the magnitude of the average par-
ticle velocity is much higher (~300 m/s)
than a conventional wire arc gun (~130
m/s).3 The corresponding particle tem-
perature and mean diameter do not vary
greatly through the slices of the plume.
A high speed camera image of the at- Fig. 2 – High speed camera pic-
omization behavior in mode I is shown ture during mode l operation.
in Fig. 2. In Mode III, particle velocities up to 400 m/s were observed.
This is lower compared to the commercial HVOF guns (~500 m/s).4
The current HVOF component is designed to operate at low combus-
tion rates and is air-cooled, whereas the commercial HVOF guns op-
erate at high combustion rates and use water cooling. In full-hybrid
mode (II), the particles had intermediate velocities.
The efficacy of the “hybrid” system in fabricating FGMs is demon-
strated in Fig. 3. This net-shape FGM is made from B4C-Al mate-
rials system. The thickness of this
sample was approximately an
inch. The smooth compositional
variation across this thickness is
evident from Fig. 3b. The detailed
microstructures from various re-
gions of this sample are shown in
Fig. 3c.
The quality of the deposit is self
evident from these microstruc-
tures. The coating integrity was
excellent and lacks any significant
porosity, which indicates the pos-
sibility of use as structural com-
ponents. Although the deposit Fig. 3 – B4C and Al FGM. (a) 1” thick
thickness was large compared to disc. (b) macrostructure showing con-
what is normally practiced in tinuous variation of B4C. (c) microstruc-
thermal sprayed deposits, no ap- ture at different locations.
parent crack and distortion was visible in these samples. This B4C-
Al FGM is designed to cater to applications involving very high
hardness at one end with graded ductility through the matrix to
absorb kinetic energy. iTSSe
References
1. D. Kosikowski, M. Batalov, and P. S. Mohanty, Functionally Graded
Coatings by HVOF-Arc Hybrid Spray Gun, Proc. Int. Thermal Spray Conf-
ITSC05, 2005, p 444-449.
2. D. Kosikowski, M. Batalov, and P. Mohanty, In-Flight Particle Charac-
terization of HVOF-Arc Hybrid Gun, Proc. Int. Thermal Spray Conf-ITSC05,
2005, p 785-790.
3. P. S. Mohanty, R. Allor, P. Lechowicz, R. Parker, and J. Craig, Proc. Int.
Thermal Spray Conf., 2003, p 1183-1190.
4. M.P. Planche, H. Liao, B. Normand, and C. Coddet, Relationships Be-
tween NiCrBSi Particle Characteristics and Corresponding Coating Prop-
erties Using Different Thermal Spraying Processes, Surf. Coat. Technol,
200(7), 2005, p 2465-2473.
For more information: Dr. Pravansu S. Mohanty, professor of mechan-
ical engineering, Additive Manufacturing Process Laboratory (AMPL),
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Michigan - Dear-
born, 4901 Evergreen Road, Dearborn, MI 48188; tel: 313/593-4254;
pmohanty@engin.umd.umich.edu; http://ampl.engin.umd.umich.edu/.
iTSSe
57 7
 HOW TO . . .
How to Characterize a Thermal Spray
Coating Using Electron Microscopy
Doug Puerta
IMR Test Labs
Lansing, New York

Fig. 1 – Cryogenic fracture surface of a plasma
sprayed WCCo coating. The fracture surface
contains a number of pores and cavities (red ar-
rows), which represent porosity within the coating.
Photo courtesy of Pratt & Whitney Quality and
Standard Laboratory.
Fig. 2 – Cross-sectional view of a nickel-aluminum bond coat.
The red arrows in this image are used to identify porosity
between the splat particles.
Fig. 3 – SEM micrograph of a cryogenic fracture surface of
a nickel-aluminum coating. The area within the red box is
shown in greater detail in Fig. 4.
Despite all of the advances in metallographic techniques over the past two decades, there are
still a number of coatings that cause problems within the metallography lab. Frequently, these
coatings will take on different appearances based on the preparation recipe used. From a
metallography standpoint, there is no single method that can be relied upon to prove the true
structure of the coating. Fortunately, there are simple alternatives to metallography that can
be used to characterize a thermal spray coating. This article will discuss one such method, which
involves using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to examine a cryogenic
fracture of the coating.
The procedure for creating a cryogenic fracture of a coating is very similar to the
procedure used for creating a fracture grain size sample of martensitic steels (per
ASTM E 112). A thin section of the sample is submerged in liquid nitrogen until
“frozen,” removed from the liquid nitrogen, and quickly overloaded to fracture the
sample (keeping the coating in tension). Examination of a coating fracture surface
often reveals features that may have been masked or exaggerated by metallographic
preparation.
A good example of a coating that can be characterized by this technique is tungsten
carbide-cobalt (WCCo). WCCo is a coating that is frequently mis-prepared during
metallographic preparation. In some cases, carbide particles are fractured and/or
“pulled-out” of the coating, artificially increasing the apparent porosity. In other cases,
the cobalt phase may be smeared over inherent porosity, therefore decreasing the
apparent porosity. As shown in Fig. 1, a cryogenic fracture surface of the coating can
give the operator a sense of the true porosity present within the coating. Within this
fracture surface, pores are readily visible that should correspond to porosity in a
mounted and polished sample.
Another application for cryogenic fractures relates to the classification of
interfaces between splat particles. Depending on the operator and specification,
features such as those shown in Fig. 2 may be classified as either porosity or
oxides. Analysis of a cryogenic fracture of this sample verifies that these features
are in fact porosity. Figure 3 shows a low-magnification view of a nickel-aluminum
coating, from which the general structure of the coating can be seen. Figure 4
shows a higher magnification view of what appears to be an individual splat
particle. In this case, the smooth appearance suggests a lack of particle bonding.
Figure 5 shows another region of the coating at higher magnification, where porosity
is again present between particles. The presence of linear porosity, as compared
to stringer oxides, can also be verified using a low-viscosity cold mount epoxy
containing a colored dye. This procedure was discussed previously in iTSSe (Vol.
1, Issue 1). iTSSe

Reference
A.R. Geary, Metallographic Evalu-
ation of Thermal Spray Coatings,
Technical Meeting of the 24th An-
nual Convention, International Met-
allographic Society, July 1991, Mon-
terey, CA, p 637.

For more information: Doug

Fig. 4 – SEM micrograph showing one surface of a splat par-
ticle. The smooth appearance of this surface suggests that
this particle was not originally bonded to its neighboring
particle.
iTSSe
8 58
Puerta, IMR Test Labs, 131
Fig. 5 – SEM micrograph showing another region of the nickel- Woodsedge Drive, Lansing, NY
aluminum coating. Porosity (red arrows) can be seen between 14882; tel: 607/533-7000; dpuerta@
the splat particles. imrtest.com; www.imrtest.com.
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006
FOCUS ON THE
SPRAY
Monitor Coatings SHOP
Monitor Coatings Limited has, in one form or another, been in
operation since 1927, predominantly as an engineering company,
introducing thermal spraying to its portfolio in the late 1970s.
The initial focus was on high end technology aerospace applica-
tions, but the business was further developed to encompass the
steel manufacturing and directional drilling industries. In addi-
tion to thermal spraying, Monitor has also developed slurry coat-
ing technology (with two international patents), which can be
used either independently or in combination with thermal spray-
ing enhancing component performance.
Monitor’s historical focus on aerospace applications led to
troubled times following the events of 9/11/2001. A subsequent
management buy out by the now private owners, Bryan Allcock,
managing director, and Malcolm Findlay, operations director,
allowed for significant investment and relocation to the purpose
built facilities and significant expansion into overseas markets.
Monitor’s UK facilities currently employ 38 people with
recruitment being a top agenda item in order to meet the compa-
ny’s rapid but sustainable growth. Monitor Coatings Limited has
virtually zero staff turnover with several employees already hav-
ing completed more than 40 years service. One of the most sig-
nificant achievements for Monitor has been recognition through
winning the Manufacturing Business Awards and North Tyneside
Small Business Awards 2004.
Monitor offers a full range of thermal spray and related servic-
es including wire, arc, plasma, HVOF and one of the largest low
pressure plasma units in the market. In close partnership with its
local supply chain, Monitor offers weld repair, machining, and
specialist grinding for pre- and post-coated components. Monitor Coatings factory
Monitor’s unique range of slurry coatings offer the ideal partner
to thermal spray, enabling state of the art ceramic sealing capabil- ºC) and ultra high wear
ities and stand-alone non-line-of-sight alternative technology. resistance slurry coatings
Monitor Coatings continues its 30-year tradition of servicing for a diverse range of
the aerospace and gas turbine industry sectors. Monitor now “hard to reach” applica-
boasts Merit status on its well-established NADCAP accredita- tions. Recently added
tion together with AS9100, ISO 9000-2000, and numerous other variants include diffusion
customer approvals. Other core markets include the steel manu- coatings for high tempera-
facturing industry, oil and gas based directional drilling, and ture oxidation resistant
newer markets, including steam turbines and biomass incinera- applications.
tors. While developing the business into new sectors, Monitor Monitor credits its suc-
also maintains its roots, continuing to provide a quality service to cess to a unique style of
traditional markets providing solutions to wear and corrosion management, a commit-
resistance on rotating and reciprocating parts. ment to sustained invest-
In conjunction with its foreign partners Monitor looks forward ment, and a continual Winners of the North Tyneside Small
to further developing an exciting range of processes including search for new innovative Business Awards 2004 (from left): Dr. Bryan
micro-laser welding for in-situ repair of hard face coatings, solutions to protection in Allcock, managing director; Cllr. Linda Arkley,
mayor of North Tyneside; and Mr. Malcolm
fusion welding, and narrow bore internal coatings. The last three extreme environments. Findlay, operations director.
years have been focused on the globalization of the company. Over 12% of Monitor
Monitor now has established joint ventures in Singapore as Coatings’ turnover is re-invested in research and development
Fusion Monitor and Abu Dhabi as Rainbow Monitor. Monitor projects including national and international collaborative
Coatings also has secured partnerships in the USA based around research. iTSSe
core technology transfer.
As part of its commitment to global customer service, Monitor Contact information: Dr. Bryan Allcock, Managing Director, Monitor
Coatings Limited, 2 Elm Road, West Chirton North Industrial Estate,
has just launched a full range of slurry coatings to be made avail- North Shields, Tyne & Wear NE29 8SE, United Kingdom, tel: +44 191
able to applicators around the world. The range includes sealing 293 7040; fax: +44 191 293 7041; B.Allcock@monitorcoatings.co.uk;
technology for HVOF hard-face coatings, high temperature (2000 www.monitorcoatings.co.uk.
iTSSe
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006 59 9
 A Winning Alternative
to Hard Chrome
in Deep Bore Applications
P. Ruggiero and Marc Froning
Engelhard Corporation
East Windsor, Connecticut
Overview
The aerospace industry has been aggressively seeking alter-
native methods to hard chrome plating, especially for deep-
bore parts that can be difficult to coat. This has taken on an
even greater urgency now that the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) has announced a new, sharply
lower permissible exposure limit (PEL) for occupational expo-
sure to hexavalent chromium (HC). Effective May 30, 2006
the PEL for HC workers is reduced from 52 micrograms to 5
micrograms in an 8-hour time weighted average (TWA).
OSHA said it was undertaking the action to reduce the “signif-
icant health risks” posed by HC. This mandatory reduction in
PEL will undoubtedly continue to expand the need for alterna-
tive coating solutions.
Even before the recent announcement of stricter PELs for
hard chrome coating applications, manufacturers and proces-
sors had been embracing alternative coating systems. One of
the most promising alternatives is high velocity oxygen fuel
(HVOF) spraying with a material of tungsten carbide cobalt
chromium (WC/CoCr). Historically this alternative was tech-
nically restricted to components coated on external areas or
components with internal areas no greater in length then the
size of the inside diameter (ID) to be coated, but new off-angle
spray techniques are making the process more widely applica-
ble. Traditional HVOF techniques can be used to coat up to 75
to 80 percent of aerospace components. Today, new off-angle,
line-of-sight HVOF techniques can be used to coat increasing-
ly deep-bore parts. A deep bore coating length of 3X the
entrance diameter can now be achieved.
Background
The aerospace industry has long used electrolytic hard
chrome (EHC) coatings to protect components from wear,
abrasion, and corrosion, and to restore dimensions of worn
parts. Compliance with increasingly stringent environmental
and safety regulations and the need to improve coating per-
formance to reduce life-cycle costs, has driven increased inter-
est in thermal spray technology for aerospace applications.1
HVOF has become one of the more valued alternative tech-
niques.
As a line-of-sight process, however, HVOF had application
limitations, particularly in coating small internal diameters,
such as landing gear inner cylinders/sleeves and hydraulic
actuator housings. Many processors would not consider HVOF
spraying techniques because the angle of the spray was prob-
lematic. Specifically, the line-of-sight process was restricted
in its ability to coat inside diameters any greater then the size
iTSSe
10 60
Traditional ID plasma HVOF ID spray
spray application application
Coated from the outside Coated from the 30 deg
outside
45 deg
Height = width of cylinder
Fig. 1 – Off angle applications
of the ID. Essentially, a 45 degree angle was the maximum
angle possible. However, recent studies have shown that new
techniques can overcome these limitations.
Study parameters
In one study,2 HVOF WC/CoCr coatings were sprayed at
several angles while maintaining consistent combustion char-
acteristics and standoff distance. Parts only having a two-inch
ID were effectively coated up to six inches in depth. With the
exception of the wear and fatigue samples, the coatings were
sprayed onto grit-blasted AMS 5504 stainless steel. The sub-
strate alloy for the wear and fatigue testing was AISI 4340
steel.
The as-sprayed coating thickness for all samples was 250-
300 Pm (0.010-0.012 in.). The final coating thickness of the
fatigue samples after grinding was 76 Pm (0.003 in.). The
spray angles examined in this study were 90, 60, 45, 35, and
25 degrees, with respect to the substrate surface (Fig. 1).
Average surface roughness (Ra) and bearing length ratio
(Tp%) were measured for each as-sprayed coating. The coat-
ings were sectioned and mounted in cross-section in epoxy for
micro hardness testing and microstructure evaluation.
Additionally, the surfaces of the coatings were polished and
the microstructure of the bearing surface was examined using
scanning electron microscopy. Tensile bond strength testing
was performed per ASTM C633. Relative measurements of
residual stress in each coating were determined using the
Almen strip deflection method.
Fretting wear testing was performed to determine the rela-
tive wear resistance of HVOF WC/CoCr coatings sprayed at
25, 35, 45, and 90 degrees. The HVOF WC/CoCr coatings
were applied to the moving sample. The static sample was
composed of either NiAl-bronze or AISI 4340 steel. The wear
tests were conducted under room temperature, non-lubricated
conditions in air. The applied load was 1.8 MPa (265 psi) and
the frequency was 300 Hz.
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006
Summary and conclusions Surface Finishers Society, Inc., 2000, p 131-139.
Standard measured responses for coatings, such as micro 2. E. Strock, P. Ruggiero, and D. Reynolds, The Effect of Off-Angle
hardness and Almen deflection, indicate that the extreme off- Spraying on the Structure and Properties of HVOF WC/CoCr
angle HVOF WC/CoCr coatings are different from the 90° Coatings, Thermal Spray 2001: New Surfaces for a New Millennium,
C.C. Berndt, K.A. Khor, and E.F. Lugscheider, Ed., May 28-30, 2001
coatings in several significant ways. Off-angle coatings exhib-
(Singapore), ASM International, 2001, p 671-676
it lower hardness and lower compressive residual stress. As a
benefit, off-angle coatings also exhibit more uniform distribu-
tion of phases across the surface and lower as-sprayed rough-
ness. Despite the reduced hardness and residual coating stress, For more information: Peter Ruggiero is sales and marketing man-
the off-angle WC/CoCr coatings exhibited less wear, as meas- ager at Engelhard Corporation, 12 Thompson Road, East Windsor,
ured by change in thickness, than the 90 degree coatings. CT 06088; tel: 860/623-9901; info@engelhard.com; www.engel-
These observations indicate that the distribution of phases, hard.com/hvof.
not micro hardness, in the composite coat-
ings is more important in predicting wear
response. The improved phase distribution
in off-angle WC/CoCr coatings appears to
be caused by blending that occurs on
impact as the splats elongate, flatten, and
splatter. Under dry fretting wear condi-
tions against HVOF WC/CoCr coatings,
both NiAl-bronze and 4340 steel wear by
adhesion to the coating; however, the
adhesive wear is more significant in the
case of the bronze. The higher ductility of
the bronze sample likely allowed greater
plastic deformation under the normal and
shear forces in the wear test. In addition to
material loss through adhesion to the
WC/CoCr coating, the bronze sample also
exhibited characteristics of surface fatigue
wear. The wear scar on the steel surface
did exhibit plastic deformation and
embedded WC wear debris, but no evi-
dence of surface fatigue.
These study results have been con-
firmed with successful experience in the
field. For example, Engelhard coats parts
for the F-18 Hornet and the Joint Strike
Fighter aircraft utilizing similar angles of
spray.
To meet OSHA’s stricter permissible
exposure level (PEL) standard for HC
workers, the aerospace industry can confi-
dently rely upon high velocity oxy-fuel
(HVOF) spraying with tugsten carbide
cobalt chromium (WC/CoCr). New off-
angle spray techniques are extending
applications into entrance bores, and offer-
ing enhanced coating options to the vast
majority of aerospace components in the
aerospace marketplace. iTSSe

References
1. B.D. Sartwell, K. Legg, and P. Bretz, Status
of HCAT/JG-PP Program on Replacement of
Hard Chrome Plating with HVOF Thermal
Spray Coatings on Landing Gear, Proceedings
of AESF Aerospace Plating and Metal
Finishing Forum, American Electroplaters and
iTSSe

ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006 61 11

 here is a buzz among thermal
OSHA date for the law was 90 days from that date,

T sprayers and other industries about

the newly adopted regulation con-
cerning workplace exposure to hexavalent Hexavalent
which was May 30. On May 30, the clock
started ticking toward the November 27, 2006
deadline for compliance, i.e., 180 days after
chromium or hex chrome, chrome 6, Cr+6, the effective date. May 31, 2010 is the dead-
and other commonly used terms. OSHA has
proposed, adopted, and instituted new limits
Chromium line for installing engineering controls (4 yrs).
“Except as permitted in paragraph (f)(1)(ii)
on exposure, which effectively reduced the
permissible exposure by a factor of ten.
Regulation and paragraph (f)(1)(iii) of this section, the
employer shall use engineering and work
Hexavalent chromium is a known car- Daryl Crawmer practice controls to reduce and maintain
cinogen that can attack the respiratory sys- Thermal Spray Technologies employee exposure to chromium (VI) to or
tem and in some forms attack the skin; when Incorporated below the PEL…” Where engineering and
ingested, large doses are also a health con- Fall River, Wisconsin administrative controls are not demonstrably
cern. The primary concern for thermal feasible then respirator, clothing, and hygiene
sprayers is airborne particulate and fumes. controls become necessary.
Studies show that Cr+6 can be produced by plasma-arc, flame
(including HVOF), and electric-arc spray processes. Almost any Exposure determination and medical surveillance
chromium-bearing material can produce the hexavalent state Following the May 30 date, an “exposure determination”
when exposed to the high energy levels associated with thermal had/has to be made to assess each employee’s exposure to hexa-
spray process. Chromium oxide, MCrAlY’s, nickel-chrome, and valent chromium. If the 8-hour TWA (time weighted average)
other common materials produce hex chrome when sprayed. exceeds the action level, all employees exposed above the action
level must undergo “medical surveillance.” Medical surveillance
Background involves a “medical and work history” and an examination by a
On February 28, 2006, OSHA regulation CFR 29 1910.1026 physician. Employees must also be examined by a physician
became law. This new regulation has been in the works since within 30 days after a physician’s recommendation for additional
1992 when the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers International testing, after an accidental release of Cr+6, or whenever the
Union and Public Citizen’s Health Research Group first peti- employee shows any signs or symptoms associated with exposure
tioned OSHA to implement an emergency temporary standard to to Cr+6. HAZCOM (hazardous communication) is also triggered
reduce worker exposure to 0.5? mg/m3. At that time, the OSHA at the action level.
PEL (permissible exposure limit) for airborne hexavalent chromi-
um was is 52 mg/m3. Exposure above the PEL
Leaving out the politics of what followed and getting straight Above the 5 mg/m3 PEL, considerable activity occurs.
to the point, in 2004 a proposed new standard for workplace Respirators and controlled clothing are required for those individ-
exposure the chrome 6 was put forward for public comment. The uals who are exposed above the PEL. Clothing cannot be taken
proposal was to lower the PEL to 1 mg/m3 from the existing 52 home from the workplace, which requires either disposable or
mg/m3. That proposal was to have entered into the federal regis- washable clothing that remains at the workplace.
ter on January 18, 2006. Adoption of the regulation was delayed Areas where the exposure exceeds the PEL are to be “demar-
until February 28, 2006 and went into effect, on that date, with- cated from the rest of the workplace in a manner that adequately
out fanfare or the anticipated legal backlash from either side of establishes and alerts employees of the boundaries of the regulat-
the argument. ed area.” Access to these areas must be limited.

Action level and permissible exposure limit Continued air monitoring

When it was finally adopted, the limit was set at 5 mg/m3.
Another important number is the “action level” of 2.5 mg/m3.
Action levels in OSHA regulations trigger activities, which will
be covered further down the page.
Understand, this regulation was written around and appears to
have been targeted toward electroplating, chromate spraying,
welding, and general construction. There is no specific mention
of thermal spray. However, the first line of the regulation states:
“This standard applies to occupational exposures to chromium
(VI) in all forms and compounds in general industry, …”
§1910.1026(a)(1) and “Chromium (VI) [hexavalent chromium or
Cr(VI)] means chromium with a valence of positive six, in any
form and in any compound.” §1910.1026(b).
Key dates
Here are the key dates and discussion on how the new regula-
tion affects thermal sprayers. On February 28, 2006, 29 CFR
1910.1026 was entered into the Federal Register. The effective
iTSSe
12 62
When exposure is above the action level, but below the PEL,
air monitoring must be conducted every six months until the
exposure drops below 2.5 mg/m3. If exposure is above the 5
mg/m3 PEL, air monitoring must be conducted every three
months.
Housekeeping and hygiene
Housekeeping and personal hygiene are also parts of this new
regulation. Within the demarcated areas, “prohibited activities”
include eating, drinking, smoking, chewing tobacco or gum, and
the use of cosmetics. Housekeeping generally includes vacuum-
ing, in lieu of sweeping, shoveling, and blowing down areas with
air. There are also requirements for labeling and disposal of mate-
rials that are contaminated.
Parting comments
There are at least two peculiar requirements in this regulation.
Continued on page 25
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006
Successful Consultant/Client
Relationships
R.C. Tucker, Jr.
The Tucker Group, LLC
Wesley Chapel, Florida
ngineering and scientific consulting seems to be a grow-
E ing field for a number of reasons (or at least the number of
people working as consultants seems to be growing).
Many companies are reducing their engineering and scientific
staffs and outsourcing these functions to either suppliers or con-
sultants. Some, of course, are moving these functions to lower
cost countries, but in these situations they still need knowledge-
able people locally to facilitate communication and implement
results. Another reason for the increase in the number of consult-
ants is that some engineers and scientists are essentially forced
into consulting because they have lost their positions due to cor-
porate changes and have not found other comparable employ-
ment. Finally, there are “senior” individuals like the author who
just want to keep a hand in the technologies they have helped
develop over the years. In any event it might be worthwhile to
consider a few points that would help to make the relationship
between the consultant and the client more effective, efficient,
and beneficial to both parties.
INTEGRITY is an attribute we all believe we have,
but may be more difficult to maintain than is readily apparent. It
is particularly important when it comes to protecting the intellec-
tual property of clients. Most consultants have a number of
clients, many of whom are in the same or similar fields of
endeavor. Thus the consultant must always be cognizant of each
individual client’s intellectual property and not convey any of it
to others unless and until it becomes public knowledge. There are
several forms or categories of intellectual property including
patents, trade secrets, and business confidential information. The
information in patents becomes public knowledge as soon as the
patent is published, but a consultant may have knowledge of
other related information of the client that remains confidential.
Third party patented materials or processes recommended to a
client by a consultant must be accompanied by a strong recommen-
dation/warning that the client must obtain a license for use. Trade
secrets and business information are often gray areas. The consult-
ant should insist that the client clearly delineate these areas.
Although such information may be, in reality, common knowledge
in the field, the client’s use of it may still be confidential.
Most consulting contracts and nondisclosure agreements stipulate
the period of time a client’s intellectual property must be held confi-
dential, usually three to five years. While a consultant is legally free
to disclose the information after that period has expired, it is the
author’s practice not to do so until after the client has published the
information in a paper, presentation, or patent even though nondis-
closure agreements without a time limit are undesirable.
Other aspects of a consultant’s ethics that are obvious and do
not need amplification include the following.
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006
• Do not mislead the client on the extent or certainty of the con-
sultant’s knowledge of the subject matter at hand.
• Maintain accurate billing records and don’t bill to develop
information the client assumes you already have. This does not
exclude billing for the development of information if that is part
of the contract.
• A consultant normally can not assume responsibility for the
safety issues involved in a project, but certainly should apprise
the client of any safety concerns and try to insure that the client
effectively deals with them.
• A consultant should not imply in any way that he or she is a
professional engineer unless, in fact, he or she is.
So far the discussion has been based on the ethical require-
ments of the consultant, but the ethics of the client are also impor-
tant. For example, it is unethical for a client to hire a consultant
in an attempt to gain the intellectual property of a competitor.
Although regrettable, this does on occasion happen, particularly
shortly after a consultant has left the employment of the competi-
tor. In such cases the consultant should, of course, refuse to com-
ply with the client’s or potential client’s wishes. In addition a
client should not expect a consultant to assist in violating a patent
of a third party. This of course does not preclude assisting in the
development of improvements or alternative processes or materi-
als, or new applications of patented processes or materials.
COMMUNICATION between the consultant and
client that is open, complete, and candid can greatly increase the effi-
ciency and efficacy of the relationship and any projects undertaken.
In spite of an nondisclosure agreement and consulting contract, some
clients are reluctant to disclosure more than what they consider the
bare minimum of information to a consultant. First, this does not fos-
ter a feeling of trust and confidence in the consultant, and, second,
the consultant is frequently left with too little information to do an
adequate and certainly not a superior job, leaving both the consultant
and the client frustrated. It is probably better to error on the side of
more information than is necessary than too little.
The CLIENT’S OBJECTIVES are paramount
in consulting. They almost always involve economics when consult-
ing for a corporation (the opposite seemingly being true when con-
sulting for the government). Thus issues such as process or material
costs, product quality and reliability, target market size and con-
straints, competitive situation, et cetera must be of concern. For
example, the author prefers coatings or coating systems that are of
the highest quality and performance, but they may be too costly for
some client’s applications, so alternative coatings or coating systems
may have to be recommended that meet the client’s requirements of
cost, performance, and quality, but are not “top-of-the-line”.
TIME is always of importance. A consultant should always
be candid about his availability and his estimate of the time
required to complete an assignment. Conversely, the client should
explain their time constraints and not be unrealistic in their
demands for either time of completion or consultant’s total time
iTSSe
63 13
 allowed. If a consultant does not believe that he or she can meet the
time requirements of the client, the consultant should not take the
contract. If the consultant’s available time or total required time
becomes an unforeseen problem during the execution of a project,
the client should be apprised of the situation immediately.
CONTRACTS usually consist of a nondisclosure
agreement and a consulting agreement, although the two may be
conveniently combined. Most large corporations have their own
forms that are, of course, written to protect the corporation, not
the consultant. Reasonable modifications to these can and should
be requested by the consultant to insure protection of the consult-
ant. In the author’s experience, these are usually accepted.
Occasionally smaller corporations do not have such preset agree-
ment forms and will accept an agreement drafted by the consult-
ant. Although the author is not an attorney and this should not be
considered as legal advice, he believes that a combined agree-
ment should contain at least the following elements.
• Services – a general statement. A specific work scope can be
attached or made a separate document.
• Availability
• Independent contractor – consultant is an independent con-
tractor, not an employee of the client
• Warranty – consultant warrants services will be done in a pro-
fessional manner. Client warrants they will not ask the consultant
to do anything illegal.
• Liability – unless it is due to client’s negligence, consultant
assumes liability for consultant’s injury, illness, etc.
iTSSe
14 64
• Confidential information – equivalent to a nondisclosure
agreement when coupled with disclosable information
• Disclosable information – defines public knowledge, etc.
• Subject developments – consultant will assign rights to
inventions made by consultant related to and during the consult-
ing contract
• Third party obligations and services – consultant reserves
right to work for others in the same field so long as it does not
conflict with consultants obligations to the client
• Term of the agreement
• Compensation
• Survival – terms of confidentiality may extend beyond the
end of the contract
• Severability and judicial amendment – defines state govern-
ing laws and that if one part of the agreement is determined in
court not to be enforceable, the rest remains enforceable.
• Indemnification – client agrees to indemnify consultant
against third party claims. This may be particularly important rel-
ative to the terms of consultant’s liability insurance.
Undoubtedly, there are other considerations in a successful,
mutually rewarding consultant/client relationship that is both
efficient and effective, but hopefully the above will be of some
assistance in attaining that goal. iTSSe
For more information: Dr. Robert C. Tucker, Jr., President, The Tucker
Group LLC, 5154 Pine Lake Road, Wesley Chapel, FL 33543-4459; tel:
813/991-9921; email: rctucker@aol.com.
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006
Better Performance
of Plasma Thermal Spray
Ronald J. Molz and Richard J. McCullough
Sulzer Metco
Westbury, New York

Torsten Wintergerste
Sulzer Innotec
Winterthur, Switzerland

n the thermal-spray coating process, the coating material is

I melted in a heat source. The molten material is then propelled

by process gases and sprayed onto the base material. The par-
ticles impact on the base material, also known as the substrate, Fig. 1 — Gas flow in the nozzle of plasma spray guns and powder injection into
solidify, and form a solid layer. This process includes complex the plasma plume are two areas where Sulzer Metco applies CFD to improve
multiphase flow with disperse particles, heat transfer, and conver- gun performance.
sion of thermal to kinetic energy. In plasma guns used for thermal
spray, the temperature in the plume can reach 16,000 K, which
makes measurements of the gas flow field extremely challenging.
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) permit the examination of
plasma-gun behavior in operating regimes never before explored.
The use of plasma guns—plasma is an ionized gas—for ther-
mal-spray coatings is several decades old, and these guns have
since matured into efficient coating tools. In plasma guns, an arc
is established between an anode and a cathode (Fig. 1). The gas
flowing between the electrodes is ionized such that a plasma
plume develops. The spray material is injected as powder outside
the nozzle into the plasma plume, where it is simultaneously
melted and accelerated toward the substrate surface. Keeping the
plasma stable under a wide range of operating conditions, which
includes various types of gasses and their interaction, has proven
to be a considerable design challenge. Fig. 2 — The current operating window of the TriplexPro-200 gun extends past
the operating range of typical plasma guns on all fronts.
Important design tool
Rear gun body
Industrial users of plasma thermal spray demand reduced costs Front gun Triple
by increasing production rate, increasing deposit efficiency, and body powder
Neutrode stack
extending hardware life. Today, CFD is at a point where it can Neutrode and interchangeable injector
insulator housing nozzle
serve as a design and development tool to dramatically improve
the operation of a plasma gun. CFD also permits the examination Electrodes
of plasma gun behavior in untested operating regimes in order to
extend their application range and develop new and better coat- Nozzle nut
ings (Fig. 2).
Previously, the development and improvement of process gun
hardware for thermal spray was done by empirical trial and error.
Engineers and scientists would surmise what was happening
inside the gun, propose solutions or improvements, manufacture
parts, and test the changes. This process was often time consum-
ing and costly. A month of CFD work can literally replace a Fig. 3 — The design of the Sulzer Metco TriplexPro-200 features insulated neu-
year’s worth of physical prototyping and yield better results. trode segments and the ability to change nozzles easily. It has other characteris-
The Sulzer Metco TriplexPro-200 plasma gun is an ideal plat- tics that allow separation of arc control from gas dynamics, providing an open
architecture for optimization.
form for the application of CFD to improve gun performance
(Fig. 3). Its 3 arcs permit a wider range of current, and the gun is lence level is significantly lower than in the turbulent gas flow
robust enough to handle extreme operating conditions when test- typical for other plasma guns.
ed at its limits. The design also facilitates the separation of gas
flow and arc control, permitting a wide range of gas flow within Systematic modeling
the voltage limits of the support equipment. Finally, the turbu- The overall dynamics of a plasma gun are complex, and mod-
iTSSe
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006 65 15
 Fig. 4 — The TriplexPro-
200 plasma gun is
provided with three
different plasma-forming
nozzles to suit varying
application requirements
(left). Nozzles currently
being modeled and tested
produce oval-shaped
plumes, as well as other
custom shapes and even
one for axially feeding
liquid suspensions.

eling them requires a step-by-step method. First, the model of
the gas dynamics was developed assuming uniform gas tem-
perature and validated against measurements of the TriplexPro
gun instrumented for registering back pressure and flow. Once
it had been confirmed that the isothermal model simulated the
actual pressure and flow field in the gun, a model of the elec-
tric arcs, complete with magnetic field, was added to the gas
model to heat the gas. Again, the model was validated with the
actual TriplexPro gun under operating conditions of flow and
pressure, now also including voltage and current.
Next, the injection of powder particles into the plasma
plume was included in the simulation and validated with
particle temperature and velocity profiles, using an
Accuraspray particle diagnostic system and custom
high-speed imaging equipment. To complete the model, the
mass of the gun was configured with thermodynamic proper-
ties, which were validated using the energy losses in the water
cooling circuit as well as surface temperature measurements.
CFD supports development
The TriplexPro-200 plasma gun comes with three nozzles (Fig.
4) that encompass a wider operating range than typical plasma
guns. A wide bore, high-enthalpy nozzle produces a slow and hot
plasma plume, a medium bore produces a plasma plume typical
of most plasma guns, and a narrow bore convergent-divergent
supersonic nozzle produces a fast and cool plasma plume. The
use of CFD enables customization of each type of nozzle in terms
of gas flow. Incorporating a model of the arcs into the CFD model
permits further improvements to produce a stable and uniform arc
pattern. The stability of the arc heats the gas evenly and assures
that the arcs remain predictable over a wide range of gas flows.
Further, CFD modeling supports the development of more uncon-
ventional nozzles, which allow for shaping of the plasma plume
to extend the range of applications.

Calculation of the Plasma Arcs in the TriplexPro Spray Gun

—>
The Lorentz force f is essential when fluid mechanics and electro-magnetic forces have to be coupled. An electric field is
defined by the forces between nonmoving charges, whereas a magnetic field is created by moving charges. In the plasma spray
—>
gun Triplex-Pro by Sulzer Metco, the fluid that is moving in an external electric field causes a current —>
density j, which com-
prises of three electric arcs and in
—> —> —>
turn causes a magnetic field. The interaction of the magnetic field B with the current density
causes the Lorentz force f = j × B, which is exerted on the three arcs. The current is aligned along the main axis, and the mag-
netic field is oriented clockwise concentrically around the current, therefore the resulting Lorentz force points inwards, accord-
ing to the right-hand rule. If this effect is considered in the simulation, the three singular arcs contract and the temperature
distribution in the fluid at the nozzle outlet becomes axially centered and homogeneous. The flow simulation without (left)
and allowing for the Lorentz
force (right) clearly shows this
effect. The electric arcs end at
the nozzle outlet, whereas the
heated plasma plume exits the
spray gun.

HIgh
Current Magnetic
density field Lorentz
force

Low

iTSSe
16 66 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006
Product improvement
An example of a CFD-based improvement that quickly made
it into the production gun was an improvement in the convergent-
divergent HV nozzle itself. The original 5-mm nozzle was
designed to produce supersonic plasma velocities. The formation
of shock diamonds in the plasma plume was an indicator that this
goal had been achieved. However, the edges of the plume exiting
through the divergent section of the nozzle appeared fuzzy—as if
the plume was out of focus. The CFD-model images clearly
showed that, with
ideal operating gas
flows, the gas flow
separated from the
diverging nozzle
wall approximately
two-thirds of the way
downstream of the
nozzle throat (Fig. Fig. 5 — A close-up of the CFD-model with the 5-
mm nozzle clearly shows the formation of shock
5), creating a turbu-
diamonds as they appear in the actual gun as well
lent region between as the flow separation from the wall of the divergent
the main gas flow section of the nozzle.
and nozzle wall. This
flow separation indicated that the nozzle was overexpanded.
Once the problem had been identified, the nozzle design was
changed to shorten the nozzle divergent section, a measure that
reduced the Mach number, and thus eliminated the overexpansion
(Fig. 6). This modification both further stabilized the plume and
reduced energy loss.

Further enhancement expected

Sulzer Metco’s TriplexPro-200 plasma gun has already benefited
from the results of CFD modeling. With this tool and the expert-
ise of Sulzer engineers, the potential to further improve the
design not only of this gun but also of conventional plasma guns
is significant. As plasma guns, in general, are less than 15%
efficient in applying the energy input to the coating process
itself, there is considerable room for further improvement.
Further CFD-based improvements will concentrate on increas-
ing efficiency and throughput. The potential for higher operat-
ing power levels, as well as higher gas velocities and tempera-
tures has already been demonstrated in the models using the
same basic gun design. The future of plasma thermal spray
looks very bright. iTSSe

For more information: Ronald J. Molz, Sulzer Metco (US) Inc., 1101
Prospect Ave., Westbury, NY 11590; tel: 516/338-2580; ron.molz@
sulzer.com.

Fig. 6 — The 5-mm nozzle before and after modification as a result of the CFD
gas flow model analysis. Note that the nozzle is shorter but retains the same
geometry as the original nozzle.
iTSSe

ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006 67 17

 Nanocomposite Materials:
An Innovative Turnover for the
Wire Arc Spraying Technology
P. Georgieva,* R. Thorpe, and A. Yanski
Praxair TAFA
Concord, New Hampshire
S. Seal
University of Central Florida, Mechanical, Materials and
Aerospace Engineering Department (MMAE)
Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center (AMPAC)
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Center
DURIP Plasma Nanomanufacturing Facility, UCF Technology
Incubator
Orlando, Florida
ecently, there has been an intensive research in the area of

R thermal processing of nanostructured materials for their

high strength and structural applications.1-9 With this
intention Praxair and TAFA has introduced wire arc spray to fab-
ricate nanostructured coatings. Research has shown that both Fig. 1 — Wire arc processing
hardness and wear resistance can easily be increased through
decreasing coating grain size to nanometer range.1-9 This low cost
Coatings Development
manufacturing process could potentially solve many wear andThe performance of the new wires was analyzed through three
corrosion problems. different wire arc systems: TAFA Models 8835, 9000, and the
new advanced 9935 CoArc (Fig. 1). The spray parameters for
TAFA 95MXC, an iron-based amorphous type wire, has been
each system were adjusted for each particular material; however,
widely used in many coating applications with success. The new
for experimental purposes the following common spray condi-
Fe-based cored wires, with compositions Fe-C-B-Mo-W and Fe-Cr-
tions were selected: 32-36 Volts DC, 175 Amps, and 60-75 psi
Mo-W-B, TAFA designations 100MXC and 110MXC, respectively,
(4.14-5.17 bar) primary atomizing gas (air) pressure.
are known to generate distinctive, high quality nanostructured coat-
When secondary atomizing gas (ArcJet spray attachment) was
ings. The approximate chemistries of the unique, recently devel-
used, the primary and the secondary gas pressures
Table 1 – Approximate chemistries of newly developed wires were changed to 50 and 40 psi (3.45 and 2.76 bar),
generating unique nanostructured coatings respectively. The ArcJet attachment enhances the arc
110MXC – V2 140MXC wire spraying process by dramatically increasing the
Element, % 100MXC 110MXC New development New development particle velocity and concentration of the spray
Cr < 20 < 20 < 20 < 20 stream. The high velocity and the tightly focused
B <5 <5 <5 <5 spray stream produce superior, denser, and high qual-
Mo <5 < 10 < 10
W <2 <5 <5 <9
Mn <2 <2 <2 <5
Fe < 70 < 65 < 60 < 40
Si <2 <2 <2 <2
Nb < 12 <9
C <4

oped 110MXC-V2 and 140MXC wires are listed in Table 1.

The wire arc spray process is highly beneficial to the develop-
ment of nanocoatings due to rapid solidification of the spray
droplets. These conditions allow the formation of large number of
small nuclei and fine nano-precipitates in the steel matrix.4, 5 The
higher nucleation rate and fine nanostructures are highly depend-
ent on the chemical composition, especially in the presence of the
glass forming elements. Compared to other thermal spray meth-
ods, wire arc spray is considered as a simple, low cost, efficient (a) (b)
coating process. Fig. 2 — (a) The 100 MXC nanostructured coating shows higher density and
*P. Georgieva is also affiliated with the University of Central Florida better properties than the conventional 95 MXC coating. (b) TEM micrograph
MMAE, AMPAC, and Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Center. shows homogeneous distribution of the nanocarbides in the coating.
iTSSe
18 68 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006
Table 2 – Performance of wire arc sprayed TAFA Table 3 – Comparison of performance of coatings
95MXC compared with 100MXC generated with newly developed 140MXC
Equipment 100MXC 95MXC wire with conventional, widely used
8835 Porosity, % area 2.1 – 2.4 2.5 – 3.0 materials for wire arc and HVOF spraying
Hardness, HV300 860 – 903 750 – 780 Wire
8835AJ Porosity, % area 1.5 – 1.7 2.3 – 2.5 Wire Wire Arc HP/
Hardness, HV300 970 – 980 850 – 860 Process / Arc Arc 9935 HVOF
9000 Porosity, % Area 1.4 – 1.6 2.5 – 2.6 Equipment / 9000 9000 CoArc JP-5000
Hardness, HV300 889 – 905 840 – 845 Material 71T 95 MXC 140MXC 1375VM
Deposition efficiency, % 70 70 80 40
ity coatings with higher deposit efficiency. The parameters using Bond strength, psi 7000 5000-6000 6000-7500 10000
the ArcJet attachment were found to produce the best combina- Hardness, HV 350-550 700–1000 900-1100 950-1100
tion of coating properties, such as high hardness, low porosity,
Porosity, % 2-5 3-3.5 1.9–3 2
and wear resistance (Table 2). However, they are subject to the
Wear resistance,
modification depending on different application coating require- volume loss, mm3 75.61 20.53 19. 03 N/A
ments.
Spray rate, lbs/hr 7.0 7.0 8.0 4
Although all of the nanostructured coatings generated with the
Coverage, oz/ft2/0.001” 0.8 1.0 0.7 1.4
new wires were excellent in quality, there were certain differ-
Spray pattern, in. 2.5 2.5 2.5 1
ences in the performance due to the variation in their chemistry
Note: Benefits indicated by bold type.
and characteristics (Table 2). It was observed that for all three
wire arc spray systems used, the overall coating quality generat-
Conclusion
ed from nanocomposite wires are superior to that of 95MXC
The newly developed TAFA 100MXC and 110MXC nanos-
(Table 3).
tructured coatings have hardness values as high as 800 to 900 HV,
The 100 MXC nanostructured coatings show an average hard-
very high density, and a fine homogeneously dispersed nano-par-
ness of 850 - 950 HV and can be further increased by a post-heat
ticles in the steel matrix. The high strength of these new materi-
treatment. Bond strengths were estimated as high as 5000–7000
als is attributed to their unique microstructure, caused by the
psi (35-48 MPa). The 100MXC coatings (Fig. 2a) had fewer
associated phase transformation during fabrication. All the
cracks and a porosity as low as 1.5 - 2% (Fig. 2a). This leads to
unique characteristics of the 100MXC and 110MXC nanocom-
the assumption that the coatings with a higher density, better
posite wires make them highly suitable in diverse industrial
bond strength, and higher hardness will have enhanced corrosion
applications. iTSSe
and wear resistance properties.
Further TEM characterization (Fig. 2b) showed fine homoge- Acknowledgement
neous nanoparticle distribution in the coating, which results in The authors thank Praxair TAFA and ONR-Young Investigator Award
restriction of crack propagation and improved mechanical prop- ONR: N000140210591for funding the nanocomposite research.
erties. It is believed that the full devitrification of the glass state References
resulting from post-heat treatment would lead to evenly distrib- 1. U. Koster and U. Herold, Glassy Metals I, Ionic structure, electric
uted nanoparticles. A grain growth from 10 to 50 nm was transport, and crystallization, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1981.
observed after post–heat treatment at 800-900° C, and the coating 2. N. Mattern, Structure formation in Metallic Glasses, Microstructure
Analysis in Materials Science, Freiberg, June 15-17, 2005.
maintained the unique properties and performance associated 3. H. Chen, Metallic Glasses, Chinese J. of Phys., 28(5), 10, 1990.
with the nano-grains. 4. D. Branagan, Enabling Factors Toward Production of Nanostructured
Steel on an Industrial scale, J. Mat. Eng. Performance, 14(1), 2005.
New Development 5. C. Koch, Nanostructured Materials: Processing, Properties, and
Along with the above discussed 100MXC and 110MXC wires, Potential Applications,” Taylor & Francis, 2002.
6. V. Vishwanathan, A. Agarwal, V. Ocelik, N. Sobczak, J. De. Hosson,
the development program constantly progressed toward meeting and S. Seal, The Art of High Energy Density Processing of a Free Form
various customer needs and requirements. The chemistry and Ni-Alumina Free Form Bulk Nanocomposite, J. Nanoscience and
specifications of the wires were updated and the performance of the Nanotechnology, 2006, 6, p 651-660.
coatings was extensively analyzed. It was found that the most 7. K. Balani, G. Gonzalez, R. Hickman, A. Agarwal, S. O’Dell, and S.
recently developed 140MXC wires generate coatings that surpass Seal, Synthesis, Microstructural and Mechanical Property Evaluation of
Vacuum Plasma Sprayed Tantalum Carbide, J. American Ceramic Soc,
the performance of the widely used 71T and 95MXC wires. In addi- 2006, 89(4), p 1419-1425.
tion, the 140MXC coatings were found to rival low-end HVOF 8. T. Laha, K. Rea, T. McKechnie, S. Seal, and A. Agarwal, Synthesis of
coatings, generated with 1375VM CrC-NiCr powder (Table 3). Bulk Nanostructured Aluminum Alloy Component Through Vacuum
Plasma Spray Technique,” Acta Materialia, 2005, 53(20), p 5429-5438.
Applications 9. S. Seal, S.C. Kuiry, P. Georgiva, and A. Agarwal, Making Nano-
composite Components: Present Status and Future Challenges, MRS
The newly developed nanocomposite wires will likely find use Bulletin, 2004, 29(1), p 16-22.
in applications in various areas of development such as: 1) gen-
eral engineering (boilers, ID fans, valves, seals, bearings, infra- For more information: Dr. Sudipta Seal is Professor Coordinator,
structure components); 2) automotive (wear plates, piston rings, Nanoscience and Technology Center OSR, Advanced Materials
Processing and Analysis Center (AMPAC), and Mechanical, Materials
brakes, body parts, camshafts, diesel stems); 3) aerospace and and Aerospace Engineering (MMAE), Eng. 381, P.O. Box 162450,
defense (valves, pipes, landing gear, waste disposal canisters), University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816; tel: 407/823 5277;
and 4) other (marine, sports equipment, biomedical). sseal@mail.ucf.edu; www.engr.ucf.edu.
iTSSe

ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006 69 19

 Thermal Spray Celebrates
Centennial Anniversary at ITSC 2006
Peter Hanneforth
TSS Vice President & Programming Chair
ore than 1100 attendees at ITSC
M 2006 (International Thermal
Spray Conference & Exposition)
celebrated 100 years of thermal spray tech-
nology. Held from May 15-18 in Seattle,
Wash., the event was co-organized by ASM
International, German Welding Society
(DVS), and the International Institute of
Welding (IIW).
Because ITSC was co-located for the
first time with two other successful ASM
conferences, the 17th AeroMat Conference
& Exposition and the 5th International
Surface Engineering Conference (ISEC),
attendees had a large selection of technical
presentations, company exhibits, and net-
working opportunities. Plenary sessions for
the three conferences were held together.
AeroMat plenary speaker John Liu, Alcoa
Technical Center, described advanced
metallic and hybrid structural concepts for
future aircraft on Monday morning. ITSC
plenary speaker Malcolm Thomas, Rolls-
Royce, spoke on “Surface Engineering in
Aero Gas Turbines” on Tuesday. Allan
Journal of Thermal Spray Technology
Best Paper awards
Volume 13: “Neural Computation to Predict In-
Flight Particle Characteristic Dependences From
Processing Parameters in the APS Process” by
Sofiane Guessasma, Ghislain Montavon, and
Christian Coddet, Universite de Technologie
Volume 14: “Advanced Microstructural
Characterization of Plasma-Sprayed Zirconia
Coatings Over Extended Length Scales” by Anand A.
Kulkarni, Allen Goland, and Herbert Herman,
University at Stony Brook; Andrew J. Allen, Jan
Ilavsky, and Gabrielle G. Long, National Institute of
Standards and Technology; and Francesco De
Carlo, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National
For more
event
coverage
photos,
turn to page 22
iTSSe
20 70
Overall attendance at Seattle 2006 was just under 2,000, of which ITSC attracted more than 1,100 attendees.
More than 120 exhibiting companies presented their
products and services.
Matthews, University of Sheffield, present-
ed the ISEC plenary on “The Role of
Nanocomposite Coatings in Surface
Engineering” on Wednesday. Following the
plenary sessions, participants had a choice
of up to 13 parallel sessions in the morning
Laboratory
ITSC 2006 Best Paper Awards
“Impact of Partially Molten Plasma-Sprayed
Zirconia Particles on Glass Surfaces” by C. Moreau,
National Research Council Canada, and S. Chandra,
A. McDonald, University of Toronto
“Metal-Glass Based Composites for Application in
TBC-Systems” by D.E. Mack, S.M. Gross, and R.
Vaßen, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH
“Introduction of Bioactivity to Plasma Sprayed TiO2
Coating with Nanostructured Surface by Post-
Treatment” by X. Liu, X. Zhao, and C. Ding, Shanghai
Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
“Effect of Substrate Roughness on Splatting
Behavior of HVOF Sprayed Polymer Particles:
Modeling and Experiments” by M. Ivosevic, R.A.
Caincross, R. Knight, T.E. Twardowski, and V. Gupta,
Drexel University; and J. A. Baldoni, Duke University
“Optimal Design of a Convergent-Barrel Cold Spray
Nozzle by Numerical Method” by H. Liao, W-Y. Li, G.
Zhang, and C. Coddet, University of Technology
Belfort-Montbeliard; and H-T Wang and C-J Li, Xi’an
Jiaotong University
“Cold Gas Dynamic Spraying of Fe-Based
Amorphous Alloy” by L. Ajdelsztajn and E.J.
Lavernia, University of California, Davis, and B.
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006
and afternoon. An extra day of technical
programming was available on Thursday
due to the overwhelming submission of
papers.
More than 120 exhibiting companies
covered a net floor space of over 18,000
square feet. The main social event on the
exhibition floor took place Tuesday
evening when complimentary food and
beverages attracted hundreds of attendees
and gave the exhibiting companies addi-
tional opportunities to speak with their cus-
tomers and potential prospects. During this
event the new TSS newsletter International
Thermal Spray and Surface Engineering
(iTSSe) was formally inaugurated.
Attendees were also given the opportuni-
ty to participate in tours to the nearby
Jodoin, University of Ottawa
“A New Approach to Online Thickness
Measurement of Thermal Spray Coatings” by A.
Nadeau and L. Pouliot, Tecnar Automation Ltee
“Mechanisms Resulting in Improved Ductility of
Cold Spray Coatings After Annealing” by A.C. Hall,
Sandia National Laboratories; T. J. Roemer, Ketch
Corporation; and D. A. Hirschfeld, New Mexico
Institute of Mining and Technology
“Hypersonic Plasma Particle Deposition—A Hybrid
Between Plasma Spraying and Vapor Deposition” by
S.L. Girshick, J. Hafiz, R. Mukherjee, X. Wang, W.
Mook, J. Heberlein, P. McMurry, and W.W.
Gerberich, University of Minnesota
“Development of Composite Nano-Coatings by
Comprehensive Thermal Plasma Deposition” by H.
Huang, J. Li, T. Ma, K. Eguchi, and T. Yoshida,
University of Tokyo
ITSC 2006 Certificates of Merit
“Kinetic Sprayed Rare Earth Iron Alloy Composite
Coatings” by T.H. Van Steenkiste, Delphi Research
Labs
“Optimization of Laser Cladding Process Using
Taguchi and EM Methods for MMC Coating
Production” by L. St-Georges, REMAC Industrial
Innovators; and L. Dubourg, National Research

Boeing facilities and inspect the assembly
lines of the most popular Boeing jet ever,
the 737. The entire event was accompanied
by – for Seattle standards - unusually beau-
tiful weather with clear blue skies and
warm temperatures, which made the many
sightseeing attractions the city offers even
more pleasant to explore.
The Thermal Spray Society held its first
open membership meeting in Seattle, dur-
ing which the TSS President Dr. Richard
Knight delivered his “State of the Society”
address to the members. This was followed
by the awards program, beginning with the
presentation of the inductees into the 2006
Hall of Fame (see related story at right).
The recipients of the Journal of Thermal
Spray Technology Best Paper Awards, and
the ITSC 2006 Best Paper Awards and
Certificates of Merit are listed below.
Finally, the organizing committee wishes
to thank all attendees and participants for
making this another very successful event
in the series of the ITSC conferences. In
2007 the ITSC will be in Beijing, China
from May 14-16, so please mark your cal-
endars for another memorable event.
Council Canada
“Scientific, Technological, and Economic Aspects of
Rapid Tooling by Electric Arc Spray Forming” by P.S.
Grant and S.R. Duncan, Oxford University; and C.F.
Johnson and A. Roche, Ford Motor Co.
“Effect of Substrate Temperature and Droplet
Characteristics on Plasma Sprayed Zirconia Splats”
by H. Salimijazi, J. Mostaghimi, T.W. Coyle, and L.
Pershin, University of Toronto; and L. Rosenzweig
and E. Moran, GE Global Research
“Ambient and High Temperature Thermal
Conductivity of Thermal Sprayed Coatings” W. Chi
and S. Sampath, SUNY at Stony Brook; and H.
Wang, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
“Microstructure and Properties of Thermally
Sprayed Al-Sn Based Alloys for Plain Bearing
Applications” by T. Marrocco, D. G. McCartney, S. J.
Haris, and A. J. Horlock, University of Nottingham
“The Effect of the Substrate Hardness on Particle
Morphology in High Velocity Thermal Spray
Coatings” by W. J. Trompetter and A. Markwitz,
Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences; M. M.
Hyland, University of Auckland; and D. McGrouther
and P. Munroe, University of New South Wales
“Evaluation of Adhesion Strength and Residual
Stress of HVOF Sprayed Metallic Coatings” by M.
Watanabe, K. Yokoyama, and S. Kuroda, National
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006
Three Inducted into ASM TSS Hall of Fame
The ASM Thermal Spray Society has inducted three distinguished members of the
thermal spray community into the ASM TSS
Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony was
held during the International Thermal Spray
Conference (ITSC) and Exposition held in
May in Seattle.
The Thermal Spray Hall of Fame was es-
tablished in 1993 to recognize the many
outstanding leaders who have made signif-
icant contributions to the science, practice,
education, management, and advancement
of thermal spray. Sachio Oki accepted the Thermal Spray Hall of
The 2006 inductees were: Fame induction plaque on behalf of Atsushi Hasui.
The presentation to Professor Hasui took place at
the spring meeting of the Japan Thermal Spray
Atsushi Hasui,
Society (see pictures and article in “International
Keio University Updates”).
“Professor Hasui has contributed im-
mensely to the development of thermal
spray technology through his pioneering
and innovative research, his books, and his
leadership in the Japanese Thermal Spray
Society and in establishing industry stan-
dards.”
Mark Smith, FASM,
Sandia National Laboratories
“For significant and sustained technical Mark Smith (left), 2006 inductee into the Thermal
contributions to advance the science and Spray Hall of Fame, is presented with his plaque
by TSS President Richard Knight at ITSC 2006
technology of thermal spray, especially
in Seattle.
process diagnostics and modeling, and for
more than twenty years of service in profes-
sional society leadership as an active pro-
ponent of thermal spray.”
Donald Yenni,
Union Carbide Corp.
“For the invention of wire and powder fed
plasma spray torches and deposition
processes and the development of many an-
cillary thermal spray machines and thermal
spray applications.”
Nominations for the 2007
Hall of Fame are due by
September 30, 2006.
Visit www.
asminternational.org/tss
for details.
Nomination forms and
information are available
under the “Membership”
dropdown box or contact Robert Tucker accepted the Thermal Spray Hall of
Sarina Pastoric at Fall induction plaque of behalf of Donald Yenni,
and subsequently presented the plaque and pin to
sarina.pastoric@ Yenni, shown above with his wife Betty, at his home
asminternational.org. in Ann Arbor, Mich.
iTSSe
71 21
 continued
The ITSC plenary
session speaker, Dr.
Malcolm Thomas from
Rolls-Royce, drew a
full house on Tuesday
morning with his talk
“Surface Engineering
in Aero Gas
Turbines.”

The ITSC technical sessions were comprised of over

260 papers and a large selection of posters.

Peter Hanneforth, TSS Vice President; Rick Knight,

TSS President; and Thom Passek, TSS Executive
Director, open the Seattle 2006 expositions.
The President of the ASM Thermal Spray Society, Dr.
Rick Knight, gave his “State of the Society” address
to the membership.
Christian Moreau (left) receives an ITSC 2006 Best
ITSC 2006 Proceedings available on CD Paper Award from President Knight.
The proceedings of the International Thermal Spray Conference 2006 (ITSC 2006),
“Building of 100 Years of Success,” has recently been published in electronic format
by ASM International. More than 250 papers covering the full spectrum of topics on
the science of, innovations in, and applications for thermal spray are presented in this
volume.
The contributions feature a
broad range of topics, includ-
ing recent progress in the basic
science of spraying, diagnos-
tics, process control, particle
impact, microstructure, and TSS President Rick Knight (right) presents the JTST
Vol. 14 Best Paper Award to Jan Ilavsky.
properties; results on degrada-
tion mechanisms, testing and
performance evaluation; and
developments in new materi- Photos courtesy of Jami Hafiz and Thomas Luhn from two
papers included in the proceedings: “Hypersonic Plasma
als, processes, equipment and Particle Deposition - A Hybrid between Plasma Spraying and
applications. Papers from Vapor Deposition” by J. Hafiz, R. Mukherjee, X. Wang, P.H.
three focused symposia on McMurry, J.V.R. Heberlein, and S.L. Girshick, Department of
coatings for biomedical appli- Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota; and “Aspects
cations, cold spray, and model- of Thermal Spray Molding of Micro Components” by J. Wilden,
ing and simulation highlight J.P. Bergmann, and T. Luhn, Technische Universität Ilmenau,
some of the advances in these Fachgebiet Fertigungstechnik, Germany
areas. Tiziana Marrocco is presented with an ITSC 2006
In addition to these three themes, papers are grouped under topical headings where Certificate of Merit by President Knight.
much of the activity in the thermal spray field is currently focused.
The submissions published in the proceedings have all passed through a
formal review process in which established high-quality guidelines were employed.
Such a process helped ensure that the manuscripts followed strict guidelines in regard
to format, editorial style, and quality and standard of scientific and technical content.
The proceedings were edited by an international team of editors including Basil
Marple and Rogerio Lima, the Industrial Materials Institute, National Research
Council of Canada; Margaret Hyland, The University of Auckland, New Zealand;
Yuk-Chiu Lau, GE Global Research; and Joël Voyer, the Austrian Research Centers -
Leichtmetallkompetenzzentrum Ranshofen.
For more information: Customer Service Center, ASM International, Materials Park,
OH 44073-0002; tel: 800/336-5152, ext. 6, or 440/338-5151, ext. 6; A social highlight was the Wednesday evening cruise
CustomerServiceDept@asminternational.org; www.asminternational.org. on Puget Sound, which gave over 350 attendees the
opportunity to enjoy the Seattle skyline.
iTSSe
22 72 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES
Aerospace Materials Symposium
set for October in Montreal
The Third International Symposium on Aerospace Materials and
Manufacturing: Emerging Materials, Processes, and Repair Techniques
will be held October 1-4, 2006, in Montreal, Canada. Held in conjunc-
tion with COM206 – the Conference of Metallurgists, the symposium is
organized jointly by The Materials Performance and Integrity Section
and The Materials Science and Engineering Section of METSOC-The
Metallurgical Society of CIM, and is co-sponsored by the ASM Canada
Council.
Sessions are scheduled on coatings, including component degradation
and protection and applications of advanced coating technologies, such Gyeongju, site of the 2nd Asian Thermal Spray Conference, is a capital city of the
ancient Shilla dynasty.
as EB-PVD and plasma spray for innovative thermal barrier and erosion
coatings, forming, materials and process modeling, microstructure opti- Korea; National Research Lab of Thermal Spray, Korea; National
mization, testing and inspection, materials in machining, welding and Research Lab of Kinetic Spray, Korea; International Welding Supply
joining, and manufacturing and repair technologies. Co., Ltd.; and Korea Eutectic, Ltd.
For additional details, see: www.metsoc.org/com2006. Scheduled topics include applications and properties, biomedical coat-
Contributed by Christian Moreau, National Research Council ings, cold spray, economic and regulatory, equipment and processes, and
Canada, 75, de Mortagne, Boucherville, Québec J4B 6Y4, Canada; tel: modeling and simulation. A poster session is planned.
450/641-5228; christian.moreau@cnrc-nrc.gc.ca. The official hotel of the conference is the Gyeongju Hiton Hotel,
located on the Bomun Lake Resort, four miles from Gyeongju city. This
2750-acre resort consists of golf courses, shopping arcades, Shilla
Gyeongju, Korea, Village, Gyeongju World amusement park for children, as well as the
is site of ATSC 2006 rich historic relics of the ancient capital city of the Shilla Dynasty.
The 2nd Asian Thermal Spray Conference will take place November 6- For further information, please visit the ATSC 2006 homepage,
8, 2006, in Gyeongju, Korea. The event is being organized by the Korea www.atsc2006.org.
Thermal Spray Society and The Korea Institute of Metals and Materials Contributed by Soon Young Hwang, Chairman of ATSC 2006
(Pohang Branch). Sponsors of the conference are Korea Institute of Organizing Committee, RIST, San32, Hyo-ja Dong, Pohang, Korea; tel:
Metals and Materials, CNMT, 21C Frontier R&D Program, MOST, +82-54-279-6346; syhwang@rist.re.kr.

iTSSe
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006 73 23
 INTERNATIONAL UPDATES Continued
JTSS President Dr. Kazuo Ueno (left) presented the ASM Thermal Spray Society
Hall of Fame plaque to Prof. Atsushi Hasui during a special ceremony at the June
meeting of the Japan Thermal Spraying Society.
Thermal Spray Hall of Fame Award
Presented to Atsushi Hasui
During a special ceremony at the spring meeting of the Japan Thermal
Spraying Society (JTSS) on June 15 in Osaka, JTSS President Dr. Kazuo
Ueno presented the ASM Thermal Spray Society Hall of Fame plaque to
Prof. Atsushi Hasui. More than 120 attendees joined in celebrating this
memorable event.
As part of the ceremony, Dr. Seiji Kuroda introduced the history and
significance of the award to those present. Following the event, Dr.
Kuroda said, “Prof.Hasui gave a very impressive speech, looking back
on his career in thermal spray. He was very honored to be placed among
iTSSe
24 74
the giants of thermal spray. We all felt
very proud to have had such a great
pioneer in Japan.”
In a letter of appreciation to Dr.
Richard Knight, ASM Thermal Spray
Society president, Dr. Hasui wrote,
“With great pleasure I received the
ASM International Thermal Spray
Hall of Fame Award…. This ceremony
again made me realize how fortunate I
have been studying in this very inter-
esting field of thermal spraying tech-
nology over many years and the great
value of the honor I received.”
Prof. Sachio Oki had accepted the
Prof. Atsushi Hasui reflects on his induction plaque on Prof. Hasui’s
career in thermal spray after behalf during the International
receiving his TSS Hall of Fame Thermal Spray Conference (ITSC)
induction plaque. 2006 held in May in Seattle (see article
on page 21).
Contributed by Seiji Kuroda, Composites and Coatings Center,
National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) 1-2-1, Sengen, Tsukuba-
shi, Ibaraki-ken 305-0047, Japan; tel: +81-298-59-2444; kuroda.seiji@
nims.go.jp.
United Nations of Thermal Spray
(UNTS)
During ITSC 2006 in Seattle more than 20 top level representa-
tives from 10 global thermal spray societies based in 9 countries on
4 continents gathered for a general introductory meeting to give
brief overviews of their respective organizations, get to know each
other, and exchange ideas for cooperation. An interesting conclu-
sion from this forum was the fact that many of our global industry
societies engage in similar activities and also offer similar products
and services to their membership.
It also became clear that the main objective of all societies is to
provide value to their members and to grow the thermal spray indus-
try beyond its current applications and customer base. Hence, the
attendees agreed that a certain level of cooperation between their
societies might be desirable. As a matter of fact, the concept of hav-
ing an internationally representative group engaged in cross border
discussions related to the thermal spray industry and the opportuni-
ties that are presenting themselves triggered some further thought
and discussions among some of the attendees. In order to facilitate
communication, networking, cooperation, and coordination
between our global thermal spray societies and foster industry
growth it would be conceivable to create a general institution of
global societies under the name “United Nations of Thermal Spray”
(UNTS).
Due to the complex nature of our individual societies and the lim-
ited time and resources all of us have to cope with, the UNTS prob-
ably can be only a high level informal body. Nevertheless, it can be
assumed that there could be some benefits for all participating mem-
bers and that a more formal approach could develop from the basic
start-up mode. Therefore, it is suggested to have another meeting
during the ITSC 2007 in Beijing where further opinions and sugges-
tions regarding this institution should be discussed. We would invite
and encourage societies who share the above objectives and views
and who wish to engage in international cross border communica-
tion and cooperation to contact me directly for further information.
Contributed by Peter Hanneforth, ASM/TSS President Elect and
Programming Chair, SpaCom, 223 Wall Street #160, Huntington,
NY 11732; tel: 631/757-7799, peter.hanneforth@spacom.com.
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006
OSHA Hexavalent
Chromium Regulation,
continued from page 12
First is the “Prohibition of Rotation. The
employer shall not rotate employees to dif-
ferent jobs to achieve compliance with the
PEL.” In other OSHA regulations, rotating
employees is permissible, e.g. to reduce
exposure to noise. Another is the implica-
tion that to avoid taking any remedial
action, one must demonstrate under the
worst case condition that the exposure is
below the action level.
If the background levels in a facility
(tested under worst-case conditions) are
above the action level, then every employ-
ee in that facility must be tested and peri-
odic air samples must be taken.
It is clear that even the act of changing
dust collector filters would create an
“uncontrolled release” or “emergency” as
it is defined in 1910.1026(b).
Controlling/confining exposure to hexava-
lent chromium during maintenance will be
a challenge, since most dust collectors are
not equipped with the means to contain
dust when the filter cartridges are changed.
It may seem extreme to reduce the
exposure limit by an order of magnitude,
but it is not. Inconvenient, it is. Expensive,
it is. Prudent, it is as well. Others can
argue the validity of the numbers that pro-
duced this regulation. The regulation will
almost certainly be challenged; that could
take years. We have before us a new regu-
lation, which attempts to make the work-
place a bit safer for us all. It is, as the
poker player says, the hand we have been
dealt and we must play it.
There is an opportunity here for the
manufactures of booths, hoods, and dust
collectors to provide better ways to miti-
gate the problem of exposure. There is also
an opportunity for those in academia and
industry to develop non-chrome-bearing
materials for wear and corrosion. In
response to pressures on the hard chrome
plating industry, thermal spray has been
pursuing hard chrome replacement coat-
ings for decades. Many of those bear
chrome themselves. The shoe may be on
the other foot, so to speak. iTSSe
For more information: Daryl Crawmer is
Director of Technology, Thermal Spray
Technologies Incorporated, 124 Lazy Lake Dr.,
Fall River, WI 53932; tel: 608/825-2772;
dcrawmer@tstcoatings.com; www.tstcoatings.
com.
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006
espite major recent MEMBERS
D progess in thermal
spray (TS) science, a near-
CORNER
should describe not only as-
sprayed conditions, but life-
time property evolution due
century of non-prime From the to loading and/or environ-
reliant utility, simplified ment. We need not start
treatments, and haphazard TSS from the ground up in this.
descriptors (e.g. ‘chaotic’) Collaboration with other
of complex deposition
Mechanical communities, most notably
phenomena have led to an Committee civil engineers, etc., could
internalization of TS Andrew Gouldstone provide insights in material
research. That is to say, in models (i.e., concrete dam-
ASM Thermal Spray Society
the wider materials and (TSS) Accepted Practices
aged elasticity) that may
engineering communities, describe TS quite well.
Committee on Mechanical
TS is either a technology Properties Chairman
Importantly, it could pro-
that “works just fine” or vide access to experimental
conversely is too difficult capabilities to test or devel-
to study, with little inroads op models. Targeted inter-
or philosophy for system- actions would not only
atic investigation. One of raise the level of mechani-
the goals of TSS is to cal modeling of TS, but
change this incorrect per- would also showcase to
ception, with the specific engineering researchers
tasks of 1) raising aware- how far TS has come, and
ness and fundamental where the new interesting
understanding of TS in the problems may be found.
mainstream materials community, and 2) 2) Continuum-based models are impor-
promotion of TS in other engineering tant to develop. Most engineers who imple-
interests. ment TS are mechanical engineers, and they
How can mechanics play a role in this? simply cannot use a value of ‘hardness’ or a
For the most part, studies in TS mechanics qualitative description of crack growth in
have been controlled by well-known logisti- any lifetime prediction scenario.
cal limitations, namely (a) relatively thin 3) In attempts to raise our scientific cred-
coatings (< 1mm), (b) nonlinear, stress- ibility, we must be careful not to alienate
dependent properties, and (c) anisotropic, everyone who uses TS coatings with a sud-
defective microstructure. It is difficult to den U-turn in thinking. To educate our own,
measure properties per se, so we do what we plans are being laid for ‘how-to’ sections in
can, so to speak, by measuring hardness (a upcoming publications, and repeatability
manufactured parameter) and modulus (dif- studies on common test methods.
ferent via indentation, or in-plane), or per- Final thoughts - One of the limitations
forming bending or pull-off tests. for TS in other mainstream communities is
Conversely, we go straight to performance the lack of information, most notably in
testing (wear, erosion, etc.). However, such mechanical properties. We have our own
efforts are often taken with the goal of com- methods (i.e., hardness testing, wear testing)
paring different coatings, or meeting a to determine whether a change in feedstock
‘spec.’ Progress has been made to relate or process is ‘successful.’ However, that
properties to performance, but this has also benefits us within the community, and the
been largely empirical. To address this, the results are not readily spreadable to other
following ideas are being discussed by the engineering disciplines. If we want to
Mechanical Properties Committee. increase our membership and usage, we
1) We must continue to aggressively pur- should provide tools, analyses, and descrip-
sue a fundamental understanding of TS tors that can be used by those we want to tar-
coatings for what they are – defective mate- get. On the same note, we should continue
rials. For this, we should begin to move to raise the basic abilities of our members to
away from simplified descriptors of behav- quantify their own coatings, for process
ior. As an example, steps are being taken to comparison, and increased confidence.
quantify coating stress-strain behavior in
terms of yield strength and strain hardening, For more information: Dr. Andrew Gould-
stone, Center for Thermal Spray Research,
but we should follow this up with new SUNY at Stonybrook, Stony Brook, NY 11794;
parameters describing physics that is preva- tel: 631/632-8480; andrew.gouldstone@stonybrook.
lent in TS behavior. These parameters edu; www.matscieng.sunysb.edu/ctsr.
iTSSe
75 25

JTST
HIGHLIGHTS
The Journal of Thermal Spray
Technology (JTST), the official journal of
the ASM Thermal Spray Society,
publishes contributions on all aspects –
fundamental and practical – of thermal
spray science, including processes,
feedstock manufacture, testeing, and
characterization. As the primary vehicle
for thermal spray information transfer,
its mission is to synergize the rapidly
advancing thermal spray industry and
related industries by presenting
research and development efforts
leading to advancements in
implementable engineering applications
of the technology.
Several articles from the September
issue 15(3), as selected by JTST editor
Christian Moreau, are highlighted here.
JTST is published quarterly. In addition
to the print publication, JTST is
available online through www.
ingentaconnect.com. For more
information, please visit
www.asminternational/tss.
iTSSe
26 76
“Corrosion Behavior of
Wire-Arc-Sprayed Stainless
Steel Coating on Mild
Steel”
Zhensu Zeng, Nobuaki Sakoda,
and Toshiro Tajiri
The corrosion characteristics of a wire-arc- Digital images of wear block and wear pattern of 6
sprayed stainless steel coating on mild steel mm diameter mating material (100Cr6) for PSU
were investigated in regard to atomizing gases blend #2 coatings on 4140 alloy
and sealing treatment. The corrosion behavior based coatings deposited on 4140 alloy at
of the coating was observed under a micro- ambient temperature. Selective coatings were
scope successively evaluated using x-ray diffraction for phase
through a cycling test of analysis, optical microscopy (OM) and scan-
wetting and drying in a ning electron microscopy (SEM) for
salt solution. The seal- microstructural evaluation, and ball-on-disc tri-
ing-treated coating was bology experiments for friction coefficient and
found to rust faster com- wear determination.
pared with the non-seal-
ing-treated coating, but “Process-Based Quality for
the mild steel substrate
was protected against
Thermal Spray via
Feedback Control”
corrosion even when the
coating itself deteriorat- Ron Dykhuizen
and Richard Neiser
ed due to the interrup-
Quality control of a thermal spray system man-
tion of the substrate as
ufacturing process is difficult due to the many
an anode. The air-atom-
input variables that need to be controlled. This
ized coating rusted more Surface appearance of
paper illustrates the application of quality con-
heavily than the nitro- n i t r o g e n - a t o m i z e d
trol concepts to a wire flame spray process. A
gen-atomized one. Four coating with non-seal-
central feature of the real-time control system
different phases were ing treatment after salt
is an automatic feedback control scheme that
observed in the coating spray tests of 500h
provides fine adjustments to assure that uncon-
in regard to corrosion
trolled variations are accommodated. Feedback
behavior: chromium-based oxide, iron-based
control is greatly complicated by the fact that
oxide, chromium-depleted metallic phase, and
measurement of particle velocities and temper-
stainless steel matrix phase. It was found that
atures is a noisy stochastic process. It is shown
the chromium-depleted metallic phase and the
how the control vectors can be constructed
iron-based oxide are non-corrosion-resistant,
from simple process maps to independently
whereas the chromium-based oxide and the
control particle velocity and temperature. This
stainless steel matrix phase are corrosion-
resistant. control scheme is shown to perform well in a
real production environment.
“Investigation and
Characterization of
Cr3C2-based
Wear-Resistant Coatings
Applied by the Cold Spray
Process”
Douglas E. Wolfe,
Timothy J. Eden, John K. Potter,
and Adam P. Jaroh Two wire positions within the spray hardware
The purpose of this study was to explore the
potential of the Cold Spray (CS) process in
applying Cr3C2-25 wt.% NiCr and Cr3C2-25
“Metal Particle Deposition
wt.% Ni coatings on 4140 alloy for wear-resist- Stimulation by Surface
ant applications. This paper discusses the Abrasive Treatment in Gas
improvements in C3C2-based coating properties Dynamic Spraying”
and microstructure through changes in nozzle A. Shkodkin, A. Kashirin,
design, powder characteristics, stand-off dis- O. Klyuev, and T. Buzdygar
tance, powder feed rate, and traverse speed, Processes of supersonic blasting for producing
which resulted in an improved average Vickers thin metal coatings and of cold spray for pro-
hardness number comparable to some thermal ducing thick coatings by solid metal particle
spray processes. The improvement in hardness jets are based on the particle plastic deforma-
is directly associated with higher particle tion. Extensive plastic deformation of acceler-
velocities and increased densities of the C3C2- ated metal particles at the surface roughness
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006
 JTST Best Paper Awards
honors judges
The JTST Best Paper Award could not be pre-
sented each year without the dedicated service
provided by the members of the JTST Best
Paper Subcommittee. Roland Seals, chair of
the subcommittee for the last six years, would
View of the deposited aluminum particles at the like to recognize those members who have par-
rough carbon steel surface. The left side of the sub- ticipated in evaluating papers for JTST Volumes
strate was prepared by ceramic particle jet, while the 9-14. (Companies listed are those at which the
right side was masked and remained smooth. individuals were employed at the time of their
was observed. The possibility of stimulation of TEM micrograph of coating material from powder 3 participation.) Several of the individuals listed
metal particle deposition by the substrate and showing crystalline nanoparticles (1 – 3) in an amor- have assisted in judging during all six years!
phous matrix (4). The distance of the HRTEM lattice Thank you to all members of the subcommittee!
coating blasting by ceramic particles was
fringes of particles 1 and 2 is about 0.67 nm. Arvind Agarwal, Florida Tim McKechnie, Plasma
experimentally confirmed. The process of thick International University Processes, Inc.
coating creation by the mixed metal–ceramic SiAlON, traces of E-Si3N4 and Y3Al5O12 Charles Aldridge, Heany Javad Mostaghimi, University of
powder supersonic jet is presented. (YAG), as well as a quinary Si-Al-N-O-Y Industries, Inc. Toronto
Matt Besser, Ames Laboratory - Radek Enzl, Skoda Research
glass. The adhesion strengths depended on the Iowa State University Ltd.
powder particle size showing values of >77 Manish Bhusari, Praxair Jim Ruud, GE Corporate
“Dense Si3N4 Coatings with Surface Technologies, TAFA Research & Development
MPa for coarse powders (median grain size 25 Inc. John P. Sauer, Sauer
High Friction Coefficient P m) and >67 MPa for fine powders (median David Bucci, GE Power Engineering
Deposited by High-Velocity grain size 8 P m), respectively. The average Systems Julie M. Schoenung, University
T.W. Clyne, University of of California, Davis
Pulsed Plasma Spraying” indentation hardnesses were 450 HV0.025 Cambridge Elizabeth Schofield, Plasma
S. Usuba and R.B. Heimann (coarse powder) and 620 HV0.025 (fine powder); Paula Didier, Buehler Ltd. Processes, Inc.
Petr Fiala, Westaim Ambeon Roland D. Seals, Oak Ridge
A novel electromagnetically accelerated plas- the sliding wear resistances were comparable George E. Kim, Perpetual National Security Complex
ma spraying (EMAPS) technique was applied to those of sintered Si3N4 used as counterbody Technologies Andrew Sherman, PowderMet
to mixtures of ? -Si3N4, and alumina, yttria, and in a pin-on-disc friction test. The friction coef- Enrique J. Lavernia, University Inc.,
of California, Irvine Philip Shipway, University of
silica additives to deposit thin coatings (50-100 ficient showed surprisingly large values (1.0- Basil Marple, National Nottingham
P m) onto mirror-polished stainless steel sur- 1.1 in water and 1.3-1.4 in air) suggesting Research Council Canada Dan Sordelet, Ames Laboratory
Jiri Matejicek, Institute of Plasma Spray Facility
faces. The dense coatings consisted of crys- application of such coatings as tribological Plasma Physics ASCR Tom Troczynski, The University
talline D-Si3N4 with minor amounts of E’- high friction surfaces. of British Columbia

iTSSe
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006 77 27
 CALENDAR
Sept. 18-21 SUR/FIN 2006: Milwaukee, WI: Organized by the
Surface Finishing Industry Council (SFIC). Contact Lauren Heard,
SFIC Events, Washington, DC; tel: 202/458-8404; email: lheard@
sfic.org; Web: www.sur-fin.net.
Sept. 25–27 8th Intl. Sem. on Numerical Analysis of
Weldability: Graz, Seggau, Austria. Contact email: office@iws.
tugraz.at or ernst.kozeschnik@tugraz.at; Web: http://iws.tugraz.at/
seggau.html.
Sept. 25–29 Intl. Fed. for Heat Treatment & Surface Engrg.
and Surface Modification Technologies Congress 2006 (15th
IFHTSE + SMT 20): Vienna, Austria. Contact Nicole Müller,
Austrian Soc. for Metallurgy & Matls. (ASMET), Univ. of Leoben,
Leoben, Austria; tel: +43 3842 45189; email: asmet@unileoben.ac.at;
Web: www.asmet.at/ifhtse2006.
Oct. 1-4 Third International Symposium on Aerospace
Materials and Manufacturing: Emerging Materials, Processes,
and Repair Techniques, in conjunction with COM206 – the
Conference of Metallurgists: Montreal, Canada. Contact
Metallurgical Society of CIM, Montréal, Québec H3Z 3B8, Canada;
tel: 514/ 939-2710, ext. 1329; fax: 514/939-9160; email: metsoc@
cim.org; www.metsoc.org/com2006.
Oct. 2–5 Matls., Medicine & Nanotechnology Summit:
Cleveland, OH. The anchor event of Nano-Week 2006 (2–6 Oct.) is
sponsored by ASM International, Cleveland Clinic, and Nano-
Network. Contact Cust. Srvc. Ctr., ASM Intl., Matls. Park, OH;
tel: 800/336-5152 (ext. 6) or 440/338-5151 (ext. 6); fax: 440/338-
4634; e-mail: customerservice@asminternational.org; Web: www.
asminternational.org or www.nanomedicinesummit.org.
iTSSe
28 78
Oct. 3–5 Eurocoat 2006: Barcelona, Spain. Contact AETEPA,
Barcelona, Spain; tel: +34 934 882 210; fax: +34 934 874 330; e-mail:
aetepa@aetepa.com; www.eurocoat-expo.com.
Oct. 15–17 Intl. Conf. on High Power Electron Beam Tech.
(ebeam 2006): Reno, NV. Contact R. Bakish, Bakish Matls. Corp.,
Englewood, NJ; tel: 201/567-5873; fax: 201/567-6684; e-mail: bak-
ishmat@aol.com.
Oct. 15-19 Matls. Sci. & Tech. 2006 Conf. & Exhibition
(MS&T’06): Cincinnati, OH. Organized by ASM, ACerS, AIST,
and TMS. Contact Cust. Srvc. Ctr., ASM Intl., Matls. Park, OH;
tel: 800/336-5152 (ext. 5900) or 440/338-5151; email: customerservice
@asminternational.org; Web: www.asminternational.org.
Oct. 23–25 Euro PM2006 Congress & Exhibition: Ghent,
Belgium. Contact European Powder Metallurgy Assn., Shrewsbury,
U.K.; tel: +44 (0) 1743 248899; email: pm2006@epma.com; Web:
www.epma.com/pm2006.
Oct. 31–Nov. 2 Fabtech Intl. & AWS Welding Show: Atlanta,
GA: Contact Cust. Srvc., Amer. Welding Soc., Miami, FL; tel: 800/
443-9353; Web: www.aws.org/expo.
Nov. 5-10 2006 ASME Intl. Mechanical Engrg. Congress &
Expo: Chicago, IL. Contact Amer. Soc. of Mechanical Engrs., New
York, NY; Web: www.asmeconferences.org/congress06.
Nov. 14–16 Aerospace Testing Expo 2006 N. Amer.: Anaheim,
CA. Contact Christine Ellis, Facet Co., Plymouth, MI.; tel: 734/453-
3500; email: facet@facetcompany.com; Web: www.aerospacetesting-
expo.com/northamerica.
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/AUGUST 2006