Method of coating with combined kinetic spray and thermal spray
AssigneeDelphi Technologies, Inc.
InventorsBrian K. Fuller, Thomas H. Van Steenkiste
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Abstract
Disclosed is a system and a method for applying both a kinetic spray applied coating layer and a thermal spray applied layer onto a substrate using a single application nozzle. The system includes a higher heat capacity gas heater to permit oscillation between a kinetic spray mode wherein the particles being applied are not thermally softened and a thermal spray mode wherein the particles being applied are thermally softened prior to application. The system increases the versatility of the spray nozzle and addresses several problems inherent in kinetic spray applied coatings.
Claims20
A method of coating a substrate comprising the steps of:
- a) providing particles of a material to be sprayed;
- b) providing a supersonic nozzle having a throat located between a converging region and a diverging region, directing a flow of a gas through the nozzle, and injecting the particles into the nozzle and entraining the particles in the flow of the gas;
- c) maintaining the gas at a temperature insufficient to heat the particles to a temperature at or above their melting temperature in the nozzle and accelerating the particles to a velocity sufficient to result in adherence of the particles on a substrate positioned opposite the nozzle;
- and
- d) maintaining the gas at a temperature sufficiently high to heat the particles to a temperature at or above their melting temperature in the nozzle thereby melting the particles and entraining the molten particles in the flow of the gas and directing the entrained molten particles at a substrate positioned opposite the nozzle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.