The substrate is usually kept at a distant location in traditional thermal spraying, and substrate melting, which can improve splat adhesion usually does not happen. By moving the substrate close to the plasma flame and attaching a temperature control device to the backside of the substrate, as well as by additional heating from the molten droplets, substrate melting may occur and directional splat solidification becomes possible. In this proposed design, the substrate temperature is controlled by spray distance, flame temperature and initial substrate temperature. The variations of particle in-flight characteristics and contact interface temperature on spray distance are investigated. Optimal operating conditions are determined.heat transfer coefficient, W m -2 K -1 h i h fus Latent heat of fusion, J kg -1 Ja Jakob number, Ja = c ps (T f -T sub )/h fus k Thermal conductivity, W m -1 K -1 L v Latent heat of vaporization, J kg -1 L m Latent heat of melting, J kg -1 _ m v Mass melting rate, kg s -1 P Pressure, Pa Pr Prandtl number, Pr = m/a _ Q Energy input due to particles, W m -3 r, R Radial coordinate, m Re Reynolds number, Re = qVd/l St Stefan number, St = c pl (T p -T f )/h f t Time, s T Temperature, K T B Splat bottom temperature, K T m Melting temperature, K e u ! Favre average velocity vector, m s -1 u 0 ! Velocity fluctuation, m s -1 V Particle speed, m s -1 V p ! Particle velocity vector, m s -1WeWeber number, We = qV 2 d/r x,y,z Coordinate, m Y i Mass fraction of the i th speciesGreek Symbols a Thermal diffusivity, m 2 s -1 h Coordinate in the circumferential direction D Temperature factor e Emissivity U Viscous dissipation, kg m -3 s -1 l Viscosity, kg m -1 s -1 l t Turbulent viscosity, kg m -1 s -1 m Kinetic viscosity, m 2 s -1 n Flattening ratio q Density, kg m -3 r Surface tension, N m -1 r s Stefan-Boltzmann constant, W m -2 K -4