Effects of the spray angle on splat morphology during thermal spraying

The effects of spray angle on the morphology of thermally sprayed particles impinging on polished substrates have been studied by implementing several statistical tools (i.e., Gaussian analysis, Weibull distribution and the t-test). Nickel-based alloy (Astroloy) particles were vacuum plasma-sprayed onto copper plates at normal (i.e., 90 °) and several off-normal spray angles (i.e., 75, 60, 45 and 30 °). Different geometric shape factors (i.e., referring to an equivalent diameter, elongation factor and degree of splashing) were determined using image analysis. The spray angle had a strong effect on these geometric properties, in particular on the elongation factor of the shapes.