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The suspension plasma spraying process is investigated by using shadow imaging techniques to appreciate the different trajectories of the liquid jet interacting with a DC highenergy plasma flow. Then, the modelling of different liquid injections (isolated droplet, train of droplets and continuous jet) helps to determine which injection type must be preferred. From that, coating depositions have been carried out with yttria zirconia suspension. Trajectory deviations at impact have been measured depending on the injection pressure and injection location. Coatings have been realized under the same operating investigations and their microstructures and mechanical properties have been characterized.

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Powder metallurgy technologies require specific powders to ensure a good quality to the manufactured parts. The critical properties are; the powder chemistry, flow ability, packing density, and the absence of porosity. This review highlights the capability of Tekna’s Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) technology for the production of high quality powders for the additive manufacturing industry.

The adhesion of plasma-sprayed coating is, to a large extent, controlled by the cleanness and roughness of the surface on which the coating is deposited. So, most of the plasma spray procedures involve surface pretreatment by grit-blasting to adapt the roughness of the surface to the size of the impacting particles. This preparation process brings about compressive stresses that make it inappropriate for thin substrates. The present works aim to elaborate a thick ceramic coating (about 0.5 mm thick) on a thin metal substrate (1 mm thick) with a smooth surface (Ra of about 0.4 lm). The coating system is intended for use in a Generation-IV nuclear energy system. It must exhibit a good adhesion between the ceramic topcoat and the smooth metal substrate to meet the specifications of the application. Our approach consisted of depositing the ceramic topcoat by air plasma spraying on a few micrometers thick ceramic layer made by suspension plasma spraying. This nanostructured layer played the role of a bond coat for the topcoat and made it possible to deposit it on the as-received substrate. The adhesion of the nanostructured layer was measured by the Vickers indentation cracking technique and that of the ceramic duplex coating system by tensile test.