Dynamics of Droplet Impact and Solidification in Plasma Spray Process

Components in aircraft, automobiles, power plants or chemical reactors are frequently
exposed to severe heat, abrasion and corrosion. A thin surface coating of a
ceramic or super‐alloy is often the best way to protect and extend the lives of such
components. Plasma spray coating technology is widely used as an efficient, economical,
and environmentally friendly method of applying metal or ceramic coatings.
In recent years, considerable experimental and computational efforts have
been spent in understanding the dynamics of impact, spread, and solidification of
molten droplets on a substrate. This is the basic block of coating formation and its
thorough understanding will result in
more reliable design of coating processes.
In this presentation, a review of our current
understanding of plasma spray process
including the dynamics of the formation
of splats is presented.
Dr. Javad Mostaghimi is the Distinguished Professor in Plasma Engineering
and former vice‐Dean of Research for Applied Science and Engr. at the University of Toronto
(UT). With his PhD from the Univ. of Minnesota in ME in 1982, he held positions at Pratt & Whitney
and the Univ. of Sherbrooke before joining UT in 1990. Dr. Mostaghimi is founding Director
of the Centre for Advanced Coating Technologies at UT. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy
of Engr., ASME, Canadian Society of Mech. Engineers, AAAS and the Int’l Union of Pure and Applied
Chemistry. He is a member of the Prof. Engineers of Ontario (PEO) and is 2009 recipient of
the PEO award for research and the 2009 NSERC Brockhouse Award. Dr. Mostaghimi is on the
editorial boards of Plasma Proc. and Plasma Chemistry and the J. of Thermal Spray Technology.
His research interests include thermal plasma processing of materials and plasma spray coatings.