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3861 |
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Wednesday, May 21, 2014, Hall H1 & H2 11:30 AM Aviation Industry 1 |
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Plasma spraying of wear-resistant coatings on aerospace composite: Plasma and particle surface interactions |
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Armelle Vardelle / University of Limoges-CNRS, France Axelle Elrikh* / University of Limoges CNRS, France Simon Goutier/ University of Limoges CNRS, France Gordon Armstrong/ Irish Centre for Composites Research University of Limerick , Ireland |
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Increasingly, carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composite materials are used structural components of modern aircraft to save weight, thereby reducing fuel consumption, operating costs and environmental impact and allowing an increased payload or range for the aircraft. However, these composites components can be subjected to severe wear, mostly caused by dust, grit and sand during take-off and landing, and by impacting rain droplets in flight. One method to improve the composites wear resistance is to apply a protective coating to the component surface. Such coatings may be prepared using a plasma spray process, which allows a coating to be deposited on parts with complex shapes at high deposition rates. Furthermore, this method is already established in the highly-regulated aerospace industry. However, significant scientific and technological challenges must be overcome in applying metal and ceramic coatings to polymer composite components: (i) thermal damage and erosion of the composite to be coated by the plasma jet and sprayed particles and (ii) control of the adhesion mechanisms between the sprayed droplets and polymer composite. This study examines the effect of plasma jet and sprayed particles on the composite surface for various plasma operating conditions and composite surface preparations. It involves the chemical and physical characterisation of the composite before and after spraying, observation of particle impacts and investigation of droplet adhesion onto the surface. |