| The field of thermal spray coatings is an exciting area | | | | generate a tremendous amount of hazardous waste |
| for students of metallurgical engineering that are | | | | streams whose disposal costs can be prohibitive. |
| looking for a career filled with new developments. The | | | | The metallurgy of thermal sprayed coatings is a field in |
| traditional fields of foundry metallurgy both ferrous and | | | | itself. Thermal sprayed coatings inherently exhibit |
| non-ferrous foundry applications, the metallurgy of heat | | | | porosity and metallurgical polishing techniques that |
| treating, welding, brazing, etc are always there for the | | | | differentiate between inherent porosity in the coating |
| metallurgist to get involved in. However, thermal spray | | | | versus artificially induced porosity by poor polishing |
| coatings is an exciting field for metallurgists that covers | | | | techniques is a major problem for metallurgists. One |
| commercial industrial areas as well as aerospace and | | | | could study the interfacial metallurgical phenomena |
| medical areas of industry. | | | | between the coating and the substrate, especially in |
| Thermal spray coatings allow the alteration of surface | | | | certain thermal sprayed coatings that are subjected to |
| behavior of components by the application of a variety | | | | a post coating heat treatment. Porosity and void |
| of materials to a variety of substrates. You could coat | | | | migration in thermal spray coatings subjected to high |
| a metal-polymer composite coating on to a metallic | | | | temperatures during service is another field of interest |
| substrate or conversely you could coat a metallic | | | | for metallurgical researchers. Stresses and stress |
| coating on to a polymer substrate! This is possible | | | | reduction in thermal spray coatings is more of a |
| because the surface being coated does not get very | | | | mechanical metallurgy interdisciplinary area of research |
| hot during the coating process. Parts that have already | | | | and this is one where the aspiring metallurgist can |
| been brazed and heat treated can be successfully | | | | make a career in. All in all, looking more into the |
| thermal sprayed without deteriorating the metallurgical | | | | aspects of thermal spray careers should be seriously |
| characteristics of the substrate material. Unlike | | | | considered all budding metallurgists! |
| electroplating, thermal spray processes do not | | | | |