Considerable progress has been made over the last decades in thermal spray technologies, practices and applications. However, like other technologies, they have to continuously evolve to meet new problems and market requirements. This article aims to identify the current challenges limiting the evolution of these technologies and to propose research directions and priorities to meet these challenges. It was prepared on the basis of a collection of short articles written by experts in thermal spray who were asked to present a snapshot of the current state of their specific field, give their views on current challenges faced by the field and provide some guidance as to the R&D required to meet these challenges. The article is divided in three sections that deal with the emerging thermal spray processes, coating properties and function, and biomedical, electronic, aerospace and energy generation applications.

This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the sliding and abrasive wear behaviour of WC-10Co4Cr hardmetal coatings, representative of the existing state-of-the-art. A commercial feedstock powder with two different particle size distributions was sprayed onto carbon steel substrates using two HVOF and two HVAF spray processes.

The paper aims at demonstrating various microstructures which can be obtained using the suspension spraying technique and their respective significance in enhancing the thermal insulation property of a thermal barrier coating. Three different types of coating microstructures are discussed which were produced by the Axial Suspension Plasma Spraying. Detailed characterization of coatings was then performed. Optical and scanning electron microscopy were utilized for microstructure evaluations; x-ray diffraction for phase analysis; water impregnation, image analysis, and mercury intrusion porosimetry for porosity analysis, and laser flash analysis for thermal diffusivity measurements were used. The results showed that Axial Suspension Plasma Spraying can generate vertically cracked, porous, and feathery columnar-type microstructures. Pore size distribution was found in micron, submicron, and nanometer range. Higher overall porosity, the lower density of vertical cracks or inter-column spacing, and higher inter-pass porosity favored thermal insulation property of the coating. Significant increase in thermal diffusivity and conductivity was found at higher temperature, which is believed to be due to the pore rearrangement (sintering and pore coarsening). Thermal conductivity values for these coatings were also compared with electron beam physical vapor deposition (EBPVD) thermal barrier coatings from the literature and found to be much lower.

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Suspension plasma spraying (SPS) has become an interesting method for the production of thermal barrier coatings for gas turbine components. The development of the SPS process has led to structures with segmented vertical cracks or column-like structures that can imitate strain-tolerant air plasma spraying (APS) or electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) coatings. Additionally, SPS coatings can have lower thermal conductivity than EB-PVD coatings, while also being easier to produce. The combination of similar or improved properties with a potential for lower production costs makes SPS of great interest to the gas turbine industry. This study compares a number of SPS thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) with vertical cracks or column-like structures with the reference of segmented APS coatings. The primary focus has been on lifetime testing of these new coating systems. Samples were tested in thermo-cyclic fatigue at temperatures of 1100 °C for 1 h cycles. Additional testing was performed to assess thermal shock performance and erosion resistance. Thermal conductivity was also assessed for samples in their as-sprayed state, and the microstructures were investigated using SEM.

This paper provides a comprehensive characterisation of HVOF-and HVAF-sprayed Cr 3 C 2-25 wt.% NiCr hardmetal coatings. One commercial powder composition with two different particle size distributions was processed using five HVOF and HVAF thermal spray systems. All coatings contain less Cr 3 C 2 than the feedstock powder, possibly due to the rebound of some Cr 3 C 2rich particles during high-velocity impact onto the substrate. Dry sand-rubber wheel abrasive wear testing causes both grooving and pull-out of splat fragments. Mass losses depend on inter-and intra-lamellar cohesion, being higher (Z 70 mg after a wear distance of 5904 m) for the coatings deposited with the coarser feedstock powder or with one type of HVAF torch. Sliding wear at room temperature against alumina involves shallower abrasive grooving, small-scale delamination and carbide pull-outs, and it is controlled by intra-lamellar cohesion. The coatings obtained from the fine feedstock powder exhibit the lowest wear rates (E5x10 À 6 mm 3 /(Nm)). At 400°C, abrasive grooving dominates the sliding wear behaviour; wear rates increase by one order of magnitude but friction coefficients decrease from E0.7 to E 0.5. The thermal expansion coefficient of the coatings (11.08x10 À 6°C À 1 in the 30-400°C range) is sufficiently close to that of the steel substrate (14.23x 10 À 6°C À 1) to avoid macro-cracking.

Chlorine-induced corrosion of HVAF-sprayed Ni21Cr and Ni5Al coatings was investigated in 5 vol.% O2 + 500vppm HCl + N2 with and without KCl at 600°C up to 168 h. Both coatings were protective in the absence of KCl. With KCl, Ni21Cr degraded through a two-stage mechanism: 1) formation of K2CrO4 followed by diffusion of Clthrough the oxide grain boundaries to yield chlorine and a nonprotective oxide, and 2) inward diffusion of chlorine though defects in the non-protective oxide, leading to breakaway oxidation. Cl-/Cl2 could not diffuse through the protective alumina scale formed on Ni5Al, hence the corrosion resistance increased.

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