In this paper, a numerical study is performed to investigate the effects of thermal shrinkage on the deposition of molten particles on a substrate in a thermal spray process using the Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) method. Thermal shrinkage is a phenomenon caused by the variation of density during cooling and solidification of a molten metal. The Navier-Stokes equations along with the energy equation including phase change are solved using a 2D/axisymmetric mesh. The VOF method is used to track the free surface of molten particles, and an enthalpy-porosity formulation is used to model solidification. For the normal impact of tin particles in the order of 2 mm in diameter and 1 m/s in impact velocity, the final splat had a single cavity inside due to shrinkage. For cases with the scales of a typical thermal spray process, the effect of shrinkage appeared as a reduction in the droplet splashing on the substrate.
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INTRODUCTIONIn thermal spray processes, coatings such as various metals and alloys, carbides, and ceramics are applied to metal surfaces by a spray gun with a stream of oxyfuel flame, electric arc, or plasma arc. These coatings are formed by spraying and deposition of molten droplets on the substrate. The properties and quality of these coatings depend on many factors such as flame/laser/arc, material used for spraying, substrate material and its surface conditions, and spray characteristics. Another phenomenon that affects the shape of droplets in thermal spraying is thermal shrinkage. Because of their thermal expansion characteristics and changes in density, metals shrink or contract during solidification and cooling. Shrinkage, which causes dimensional changes and sometimes cracking, is the result of these three phases:a) Contraction of a molten metal as it cools prior to its solidification.b) Contraction of the metal during phase change from liquid to solid (release of the latent heat of fusion).c) Contraction of the solidified metal (casting) as its temperature drops to the ambient temperature.The shrinkage occurs because in most of the materials, the volume decreases due to an increase in density when the material undergoes solidification and cooling. Shrinkage can cause various defects in manufacturing processes. These defects can affect the appearance or even the structural integrity of the final product. Some examples are cavities, porosities, discontinuities such as cracks, defective surface, etc. In a thermal spray process, shrinkage has some effects on the deposition of droplets on the substrate and the formation of coating including porosity, cavity, curl-up of splat and surface depression.Developing a model to simulate impacts and solidification of molten droplets on to a substrate is a complex problem. It involves simultaneous computing of heat transfer and fluid flow in a droplet with a moving free surface. Adding phase change and density variation in this phenomenon makes the problem more complex. Modeling droplet impacts has a long history. Harlow and Shannon (1967) were the firs...