Pulsed plasma fabrication of advanced protective coatings with tailored mechanical properties

PROJECT COST:

1 050 000 $

PRIMA CONTRIBUTION:

420 000 $

PROJECT DETAILS:

Coating components significantly improves performance by adding new functionalities. This “surface engineering” can lead to significant benefits for Quebec and Canada, both economically and in terms of the sustainable development of industrial applications—such as “green” aircraft engines or next-generation cutting tools in the manufacturing sector. The collaborative project between Polytechnique Montréal, MDS Coating Technologies, and IHI Hauzer Techno Coating BV proposed here focuses on the use of pulsed plasmas (very high-power pulses) during the spray deposition of protective coatings to control their microstructure and residual stresses, as well as their effect on tribological performance. The impact of this innovative approach will be evaluated using three complementary deposition techniques with distinctly different geometries: a) planar-target magnetron (HiPIMS), b) cylindrical hollow source, and c) rotating cylindrical target. The model material used will be pure TiAlN or TiAlN doped with heavy elements to maximize coating performance.