In-Flight Behaviors and Properties of Plasma-Sprayed Tungsten Coatings

Tungsten is one of the most promising candidates for the plasma facing materials (PFM) in fusion experiment devices. In this study, tungsten coatings were fabricated on copper alloy substrates via air plasma spraying technology. The in-flight behaviors of tungsten particles in the spraying process were investigated. The microstructure and some properties of the as-sprayed coatings, including surface roughness, bonding strength, microhardness and thermal property, were evaluated. The results showed that the temperature and velocity of the in-flight tungsten particles increased by enhancing the spraying power. Un-melted particles and microcracks were found for the coatings prepared under the low (32.7kW) and high (47.6kW) spraying powers, respectively. The highest bonding strength and microhardness were obtained for the coating prepared under a medium spraying power (42.5kW) by reason of its good in-flight behaviors. The thermal conductivity of tungsten coatings was 32.2 W٠K-1٠m-1 at room temperature, which was much lower than that of bulk tungsten.