Plasma & Thermal Coatings - Plasma, HVOF and Metal Spray Coating Services

Plasma & Thermal Coatings Ltd is one of the industry's leading aerospace coating contractors for the supply of engineered thermal-spray ceramic coatings; chromium and tungsten carbide coatings; highly alloyed nickel-based MCrAlY coatings; and aluminium, nickel and MCrAlY based abradable coatings.

The technology focuses on the compressor and hot sections of the engine where coatings are applied to OEM specifications for the protection of both new and refurbished engine components.

HVOF AND PLASMA SPRAY COATING SERVICES

Located in a modern, well-equipped, coating services facility in Newport, South Wales; Plasma & Thermal Coatings utilises the most sophisticated plant and equipment, offering plasma spraying, High Velocity Oxy-Fuel Spraying (HVOF), flame spraying, automated surface activation, advanced robotic work handling, vibro-polishing, specialist diamond grinding and wire erosion finishing techniques.

Our coating services facility is designed to accommodate a wide and varied range of engine components for processing, such as:

• Compressor casings - abradable clearance control coatings
• Blade tips - abrasive ceramic coatings
• Combustors and discharge nozzles - zirconia based Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCs)
• Turbine vanes and blades - high-temperature oxidation resistance (overlay coatings and bond coats) and thermal barrier coatings
• Seal segments - rub-tolerant coatings
• Seal rings - chromium carbide and cobalt based high-temperature wear resistance coatings

A full team of coating technologists and application engineers are on hand to offer expert advice on all aspects of our thermal spray coating technology. Utilising our fully equipped metallurgical laboratory; support services include material selection, coating and application development, coating evaluation and qualification.

CORROSION RESISTANT OVERLAY COATINGS

Turbine blades and guide vanes are exposed to high mechanical loads at elevated temperatures and have to contend with hot corrosion, erosion and oxidation. Plasma & Thermal Coatings employs the latest integrated HVOF coating equipment to apply its range of MCrAlY overlay coatings to alleviate these problems.

THERMAL BARRIER COATINGS

Thermal barrier protection is required where turbine and combustor related components operate in temperatures reaching close to the maximum for either the overlay coating or the component material.

Plasma & Thermal Coatings apply a plasma sprayed zirconia based ceramic coating to provide a temperature gradient between the gas stream and the substrate. The thickness of the ceramic coating depends on the gas stream temperatures and the degree of cooling available. Typical thicknesses range from 0.2mm to 0.5mm.

WEAR RESISTANT COATINGS

Plasma & Thermal Coatings offers a full range of HVOF and plasma applied tungsten carbide, chromium carbide, cobalt based alloys and ceramic coatings to provide wear resistance against high and low temperature abrasion and erosion.

CLEARANCE CONTROL COATINGS

Blade tip and labyrinth seal clearances in axial and radial compressors are a source of efficiency loss. Plasma & Thermal Coating's abradable seal coatings are one of the most simple and cost-effective techniques for clearance control. These coatings reduce the risk of blade damage and, at the same time, improve the efficiency and performance of the compressors by managing the rotor path tip clearance.

COMMITMENT TO AEROSPACE

Plasma & Thermal Coatings is an industry leading supplier of specialist coatings which meet the demanding requirements its aerospace customers.

Our commitment to this sector is reinforced by our Rolls Royce SABRe 9000, SNECMA and NADCAP programme accreditations. Plasma & Thermal Coatings also holds ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, Investors in People (IIP) and is working towards obtaining the AS9100 standard in July 2007.