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| Abstract No.: |
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Scheduled at:
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Wednesday, June 07, 2017, Hall 12 2:40 PM
Power Generation - Fuel Cell
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| Title: |
Thermally sprayed porous copper coatings for capillary transport of liquids
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| Authors: |
CHEN Feng* / University of Toronto, Canada
Subramaniam Yugeswaran/ University of Toronto , Canada
Sanjeev Chandra/ University of Toronto, Canada
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| Abstract: |
Porous copper coatings, which act as wicks for liquid transport, were fabricated using a flame spraying process. Copper and aluminum powders were fed independently into the spray torch and deposited on copper substrates to form a composite coating. The aluminum was subsequently removed using chemical leaching leaving a porous copper coating behind. Varying the feed rate of aluminum powder allowed the coating porosity to be controlled. Channels to enhance liquid flow were made in some of the porous copper coatings by placing pieces of aluminum wire mesh on the copper substrate before spraying. During spraying the sprayed powders passed through the mesh opening and created pyramid shaped arrays on the substrates. The groove width was controlled by using different wire mesh sizes. Coating microstructures and phase formation were investigated through SEM and XRD, respectively. Coatings were made with porosity varying from 2 to 44 %, and groove width ranging from 0.16 to 0.53 mm. The capillary performance of the coatings was evaluated experimentally by measuring the rate-of-rise of ethanol in the coatings. Both coating porosity and groove width had a significant influence on the capillary pressure (?P) and the permeability (k) of the coatings. The best capillary performance parameter (?P?k) that could be obtained with a porous coating was more than two orders of magnitude higher than that of a plain copper coating.
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