Tailor-Made Coatings for Turbine Applications Using the Triplex Pro 200.

In modern jet engines, the efficiency of compressor stages is highly dependent on the clearance between blade tip and casing. To improve efficiency of gas turbines, the gap between the turbine blades and casing has to be minimized. Abradable coatings permit a minimization of the clearance and control of the over-tip leakage by allowing the blade tips to cut into the coating. Thermal sprayed abradables aim at a well-balanced profile of properties relevant for abradable seals. Amongst others these include: abradability, aging resistance, corrosion and oxidation resistance, and bond strength to substrate. Here, abradable coatings consisting of a multiphase material, comprising a metal matrix and a solid lubricant as well as a defined porosity, were developed using the Triplex Pro 200 to increase reproducibility and deposition efficiency. In addition, the influence of the process parameters on coating characteristics (porosity, hardness) and, as a result, erosion properties and abradability was investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]