Functional surface design by complementarily matched thermal spray and cutting processes

• Applicants: Professor Dr.-Ing. Thomas Lampke; Professor Dr.-Ing. Andreas Schubert
• Subject Area: Metal-Cutting and Abrasive Manufacturing Engineering ; Coating and Surface Technology
• Term: from 2015 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 270118517

In thermal spray processes, the fine shape of the substrate surface has a significant influence on the resulting coating adhesion. Furthermore, certain surface shape designs can affect the morphology and chemical composition of the applied spray coatings. Both aspects are associated with a corresponding impact on the precision post-machining by cutting and the coating behaviour in tribological pairings. However, the basic processes that lead from a certain shape design of the substrate surface to certain properties of the spray coating like hardness, porosity or machinability are not understood yet. Also, the possibilities and limits of a coating design basing on this approach are not known.The project hence identifies and investigates the elementary causal relation between fine shape of the substrate surface, spray process, coating microstructure, coating machinability and coating performance. Exemplarily, iron based plasma spray coatings and precision-turning are used. Aim of the project is to create a model that draws all relevant relationships between a defined pre-machining of the substrate by cutting, spray process parameters, resulting coating porosity and oxide levels and their impact on the precision post-machining as well as the coating performance under wear load. Thus, the model represents a method that can be generalised to obtain a specific functionalisation of a thermal spray coating by pre- and post-machining using cutting processes.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Dr.-Ing. Thomas Grund