The optimisation of powder flame-spraying parameters using a Taguchi method

摘要

The paper reports on an experimental investigation conducted on the influences exerted by individual parameters of the flame spraying of a NiCrBSi coating on the obtained adhesive strength of the coating. An adjusted experimental setup was used to spray coatings of a uniform thickness on specimens of mild steel for a tensile adhesive test in accordance with the standard ASTM C633-01. The four process parameters optimised were the surface condition of a substrate, the preheating temperature of the substrate, the spraying distance and the type of oxy-acetylene flame. A Taguchi fractional factorial design was used to evaluate the effect of each parameter on the properties of the final coating. The individual relative influences of the factors were calculated using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). A mean-value analysis was used to determine the parameter influences that enable the optimum performance of flame spraying. The quality of the coatings was confirmed by additional confirmation experiments made with optimal parameter settings.