Thermal spraying processes allows high cooling rates and can favor the formation of amorphous microstructures. Amorphous metallic coatings can result in superior mechanical and functional properties. To follow new technological development and innovation paths, indicators based on patent data can be assembled to support technological forecasting assessments and decision making. This study mapped the technological development on amorphous alloys processed by thermal spraying using patent indicators from documents indexed in the Derwent Innovations Index database between the years 1997 and 2014. We evaluate the patent activity, the role of countries, the main technological subdomains and markets of interest, as well as the main metallic alloys explored as coating. We conclude that new technological developments should be expected in near future and these advances both in amorphous alloys and thermal spraying shall be constantly monitored in the coming years.
Coatings of amorphous metallic alloys can be obtained using different thermal spraying processes, such as HVOF, plasma spraying, cold spraying and others. Although many studies focused on investigating scientific issues concerning apply amorphous metallic coatings using thermal spraying, less attention have been paid to evaluate how research institutes and companies are collaborating and influencing each other to promote new technologies. In this paper, we assessed the collaboration of organizations and the knowledge flow on this relatively new field using bibliometrics and science mapping. The method relies on scientific publications indexed in Web of Science and clustered into research areas using the CWTS Publication-level Classification System. These results provide useful insights about how players are organized and may be used in the context of R&D management, science policy and decision making.
Materials selection in product design is a complex decision‐making activity due to the necessity of embodying technical requirements into those related to customer, safety, environmental, economic and social aspects. Technological developments have been increasing materials options, thus demanding the manipulation of large amounts of information and data to identify them. This study proposes a monitoring procedure to identify and select materials in innovative product design using patent information. It applies bibliometric techniques to select relevant patents using two different retrieval strategies: (i) driven by the function and (ii) by the application of the product. A case study to search for a more sustainable composite material for aircraft interior structures reveals distinct sets of data and types of technical solutions depending on the patent retrieval strategy used. The function‐based patent retrieval strategy found more disruptive solutions, whereas the application‐based strategy identified mainly improvements in current technology developed by partners of the aeronautical industry.
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