Thermal Spray & Ceramics
Suspension Plasma Spray (SPS) Droplet Weber Number & Coating Pitch Calculator
Model liquid precursor atomization regimes, supersonic plasma jet drag, and single-pass coating thickness for columnar ceramic thermal barrier coatings.
Process & CAM Parameters
Axial supersonic plasma jet speed at suspension injection point.
Water-based (~0.072 N/m) vs Ethanol-based (~0.022 N/m) slurry.
Engineering Calculations
Droplet Weber Number
280We
Atomization Regime
Catastrophic
Single Pass Thickness
8.4um
Optimal Track Pitch
4.5mm
Dynamic CAM Toolpath & Vector Preview
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Read the Full SPS Masking & Vector Prepress Guide →Engineering Principles & Formulations
Suspension Plasma Spray (SPS) and Liquid Precursor Plasma Spray (LPPS) inject sub-micron ceramic nanoparticles (such as Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia YSZ for Thermal Barrier Coatings) dispersed within a liquid solvent directly into a high-enthalpy plasma plume. Secondary hydrodynamic droplet breakup and evaporation enable finely-textured columnar ceramic microstructures with superior thermal cyclic fatigue life.
- Droplet Weber Number ($We$): Defined as $We = \frac{\rho_g \cdot v_{\text{rel}}^2 \cdot d_d}{\sigma}$. Governs the hydrodynamic atomization regime. Values above $We > 100$ indicate catastrophic secondary fragmentation into sub-micron droplets.
- Single Pass Thickness ($t_{\text{pass}}$): Calculated as $t = \frac{Q \cdot C_{\text{solid}} \cdot \eta_{\text{dep}}}{v_r \cdot S_{\text{pitch}} \cdot \rho_{\text{coat}}}$.
- Columnar Microstructure Control: Achieved by shallow spray angles ($45^\circ - 75^\circ$) and tight robot scan stepover pitch ($45\%-55\%$ overlap).