Improvement of plasma spraying efficiency and coating quality

A commercial torch has been modified to introduce an additional anti-vortex and shroud gas flow to counter the detrimental effects brought about by the vortex plasma gas flow which is used to stabilize the cathode arc attachment and to increase the anode life. Deposition efficiency and coating quality are used as criteria to judge the modified versus the nonmodified torch. High-speed videography and computerized image analysis systems are used to determine the particle trajectories, velocities, and the plasma jet geometry. The results show that the additional anti-vortex and shroud gas flow to the torch can keep the particles closer to the torch axis and reduce the amount of entrainment of cold air into the plasma jet. The consequence is that deposition efficiency and coating quality are substantially improved.