Application and Development of Thermal Spray Technology in Aeroengine Manufacturing

The application of thermal spray equipment technology in aeroengines is driven by the wide availability of thermal spray materials, stable preparation processes, highly tunable coating composition and microstructure, controllable coating quality, the ability to produce a variety of functional and protective coatings, and the possibility of automated production. As a result, thermal spray technology has become an important component of aerospace manufacturing technology.

Category:

Aerospace field

Key words :

热喷涂设备

碳化钨喷涂加工

陶瓷喷涂加工

热喷涂涂层加工

Request for quotation Phone: 020-84836251

Product Description

Application of Thermal Spray Technology in Aero-Engines

Thanks to the wide availability of thermal spray materials, stable preparation processes, highly tunable coating composition and microstructure, controllable coating quality, the ability to produce a variety of functional and protective coatings, and the possibility of automated production, thermal spray technology has found extensive applications in the field of aerospace manufacturing. Thousands of critical components of aircraft engines and aircraft—such as compressor blade dovetails, casings, sealing shrouds, combustion chambers, turbine blades, guide vanes, journal bearings, bearing housings, sealing rings, and nozzles—require thermal spray coatings. The application of thermal spray coatings has significantly enhanced the reliability and service life of aircraft engines.

High-temperature, wear-resistant sealing coatings produced by plasma spraying technology

The high-temperature abradable sealing coating, as one of the critical coatings for engine components, is used to regulate the clearance between the high-pressure turbine rotor components and the engine casing. It plays a vital role in maintaining engine efficiency. The high-temperature abradable sealing coating developed domestically in China, which incorporates ceramic-based friction-reducing self-lubricating materials and polyphenyl ester, boasts a low coefficient of friction, excellent abradability, and outstanding resistance to high-temperature oxidation and gas erosion. Typically, the thickness of such high-temperature abradable sealing coatings exceeds 1.5 mm, necessitating the use of robotic automated plasma spraying technology. This technology features computer-controlled closed-loop regulation of spraying parameters and real-time monitoring of coating thickness, thereby ensuring uniformity and stability in the coating’s microstructure and thickness, and guaranteeing consistent metallurgical quality.

Plasma spraying for the fabrication of thermal barrier coatings

Thermal barrier coatings are used in aero-engines and land-based gas turbines to protect high-temperature engine components such as combustion chambers, turbine blades, and flame tubes. These coatings can significantly extend component life, improve engine efficiency, reduce component temperatures, or increase gas temperatures.

The main preparation methods for thermal barrier coatings are plasma spraying and electron-beam physical vapor deposition. Thermal shock resistance and thermal conductivity are two key technical indicators for thermal barrier coatings. Without excellent thermal shock resistance, thermal barrier coatings cannot be successfully applied to aerospace engines that have extremely high reliability requirements. Achieving coating lifetimes of thousands or even tens of thousands of hours is crucial for the successful application of thermal spray coatings in commercial aircraft engines.

Since yttria-stabilized zirconia operates at temperatures above 1200℃ and undergoes a phase transformation during subsequent cooling, the material’s volume expands by approximately 4% during this phase transition. This volumetric effect can cause cracking or even spalling of the coating. Both domestic and international scholars have conducted extensive research on multicomponent systems involving zirconia stabilized by two or more rare-earth oxides, achieving significant progress. For instance, a ternary rare-earth composite zirconia stabilized by gadolinium oxide, ytterbium oxide, and yttria, developed by U.S. scientists, can operate at temperatures up to 1500℃ and has already been commercialized.

Development Trends in Thermal Spray Technology

After more than 100 years of development, thermal spraying technology has become increasingly mature and is now used in a wide range of fields, including aerospace, industrial gas turbines, automotive, power generation, fuel cells and solar energy, healthcare, papermaking and printing, and many others.

To achieve a major breakthrough in aeroengine performance—namely, high thrust-to-weight ratio and high efficiency—it is essential to raise the gas temperature within the engine. This inevitably leads to a substantial increase in the surface temperatures of the hot-end components of the high-pressure turbine. Carbides and nitrides, such as SiC and Si3N4 ceramics, are the most promising candidates to replace nickel-based superalloys as high-temperature structural materials for engines operating at even higher temperatures. However, a key factor limiting their widespread adoption is their insufficient structural stability under the high-temperature gas conditions found in engines. Specifically, carbides and nitrides can react with steam and other substances to form volatile products, severely degrading the microstructure and performance of these ceramic materials. By applying an environmental barrier coating via a combined approach of chemical vapor deposition and plasma spraying on the ceramic surface, it is possible to effectively prevent direct contact between the high-temperature gas atmosphere and the ceramic matrix, thereby enhancing the structural stability of the ceramic substrate.

In certain critical application areas, high coating adhesion strength is required—indeed, metallurgical bonding between the coating and the substrate may even be necessary. To overcome the limitations of mechanical bonding at the interface of thermal-sprayed coatings, laser-plasma hybrid spraying technology has emerged. In laser-plasma hybrid sprayed coatings, the interface exhibits metallurgical bonding, and the coating structure is dense and uniform, making it suitable for manufacturing brush-type sealing tracks in engines. Currently, the main issues that need to be addressed are: first, controlling the heat input to prevent excessive dilution of the coating composition and decomposition of material components; second, reducing residual stresses to avoid cracking within the coating.

Guangzhou Sanxin Thermal We specialize in the manufacture of various thermal spray equipment and plasma spray equipment. Supersonic spraying equipment, arc spraying equipment, zinc-spraying machines, aluminum-spraying machines; flame powder spraying equipment, flame wire spraying equipment, flame plastic-coating equipment, and various thermal spray coating processes, ceramic spraying processes, and tungsten carbide spraying processes.

Prev: Understand the Applications of Thermal Spray Processing Technology at a Glance

Next: We specialize in thermal spray coating services for various industries.

Online Quotation

Action