STTR Phase I: Direction and Profile Control for Thermal Sprays

这个小型企业技术转移(STTR)第一阶段项目旨在应用高速喷气式飞机的独特特性，附着在附近的曲面上，转弯半径远远大于喷气式飞机的大小--即所谓的科安达效应。这项研究的目的是利用这一效应来操纵热喷涂射流并引导气流，使热气流能够有效地弯曲离开待涂层表面，同时允许加热的粉末撞击表面以产生涂层。这种方法的好处是能够将衬底保持在允许在表面施加硬涂层而不过度加热部件的温度。这将允许该工艺应用于各种热敏衬底材料。其他优点包括提高热喷涂的稳定性，更好地控制涂层过程，以及能够在有限的空间和恶劣的环境中运行。如果成功，这项技术的更广泛影响将出现在35亿美元的热喷涂涂层市场，该市场服务于广泛的关键应用，包括航空航天部件，从起落架、发动机热段部件和其他在使用中受到热腐蚀和热机械退化的部件；汽车部件、医疗植入物、电子产品。通过增加机器人控制，允许对复杂部件、受限环境和改进的喷涂涂层进行涂层，操纵热喷嘴的能力将进一步增强。

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project aims to apply the unique property of high-speed jets to adhere to nearby curved surfaces, with a turning radius much larger than the size of the jet - the so-called COANDA effect. The proposed research aims to take advantage of this effect to manipulate thermal spray jet stream and vector the stream such that the hot thermal gas stream can be effectively bent away from the surface to be coated while allowing the heated powders to strike the surface to product the coating. The benefit of this approach is in being able to maintain the substrate at a temperature that allows a hard coating to be applied to the surface without excessively heating the part. This would allow the process to be applied to a wide variety of thermally sensitive substrate materials. Other advantages include improved stability of thermal sprays, better control of the coating process and ability to operate in confined spaces and harsh environments. The broader impacts of this technology, if successful, will be in the $3.5 billion thermal spray coating market, which serves a wide range of critical applications, including aerospace components, from landing gears, engine hot-section parts and other components subjected to hot corrosion and thermo-mechanical degradation in service; automotive components, medical implants, electronics. The ability to manipulate thermal jets will be further enhanced by the addition of robotic controls that allow coating of intricate parts, confined environments and improved spray coatings.