Modeling and Control of High-Velocity Oxygen-Fuel (HVOF) Thermal Spray: A Tutorial Review

This work provides a tutorial overview of recent research efforts in modeling and control of the high-velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF) thermal spray process. Initially, the modeling of the HVOF thermal spray, including combustion, gas dynamics, particle in-flight behavior, and coating microstructure evolution is reviewed. The influence of the process operating conditions as predicted by the fundamental models on particle characteristics and coating microstructure is then discussed and compared with experimental observations. Finally, the issues of measurement and automatic control are discussed and comments on potential future research efforts are made.