Design Concepts of Gaseous Detonation Guns for Thermal Spraying
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ɌȿKA. COMMISSION OF MOTORIZATION AND ENERGETICS IN AGRICULTURE – 2013, Vol. 13, No.4, 82-91 Design concepts of gaseous detonation guns for thermal spraying Yuriy Kharlamov1, Maksym Kharlamov2 1Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University, Molodizhny bl., 20ɚ, Lugansk, 91034, Ukraine, e-mail: [email protected] 2E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute 11 Bozhenko St., Kiev, 03680, Ukraine, e-mail: [email protected] Received September 12.2013: accepted October 10.2013 S u m m a r y . Presented a structural analysis of gaseous processes have exposed that higher detonation guns for spraying powder coatings and the performance and lifetime coatings can be possible variants of their operational cycle. The basic principles for the design of high detonation-gas plants produced if the feedstock particles are for spraying powder coatings, including the concept of a accelerated to a high velocity and heated prior valveless devices, are formulated. to impact on the substrate to be coated [4, K e y w o r d s . Gaseous detonation, coating deposition, 13, 27]. operational cycle. Almost in parallel to plasma spraying, Union Carbide (now Praxair Surface INTRODUCTION Technologies, Inc., Indianapolis. IN) marketed the trademarked D-Gun producing premium In spite of competing processes coatings, especially metallic and cermet ones, (chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical which have long been the goal of all other vapor deposition (PVD), etc.) and certain coating processes, i.e., higher density, drawbacks, thermal spray process sales are improved corrosion barrier, higher hardness, increasing regularly (almost by 10% per year better wear resistance, higher bonding and since 1990 [6]). The growth will probably cohesive strength, almost no oxidation, thicker continue, because spraying techniques are coatings, and smoother as-sprayed surfaces. relatively harmless to the environment and the However, the detonation gun (D-Gun) process full potential of thermal spraying as an was available only as a service [12]. alternative to more conventional coating Historically, the two fundamental modes techniques (e.g., hard chromium) for of combustion, namely flame and detonation, processing "multimaterials" or for free forming have found a wide variety of applications in and repairs is still undiscovered. However, this human activities. It is a slow flame that has development could be enhanced with been extensively utilized in propulsion, power increased quality of coatings and process engineering, material science, and chemical reliability. It demands improved process technology, while detonations were used understanding and on-line control with a real basically for military purposes. As the time closed-loop control. Decades of research knowledge in detonation physics and and development in thermal spray (TS) chemistry is continuously advancing, one DESIGN CONCEPTS OF GASEOUS DETONATION GUNS FOR THERMAL SPRAYING 83 inevitably arrives at the time when this detonation-gas plants for spraying of powder knowledge is to be used for constructive coatings. purposes as well to help humanity at large. Detonation is a very attractive phenomenon from the viewpoint of the thermodynamic BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GASEOUS efficiency of chemical energy conversion into DETONATION GUNS thermal and kinetic energy. Once this The detonation-spraying technique is advantage of detonation is capitalized cyclic. In a D-Gun, detonation is initiated in a properly, considerable benefits are expected to tube that serves as the combustor. The be achieved in terms of fuel consumption, detonation wave rapidly traverses the chamber manufacturing and operational costs, pollutant resulting in a nearly constant-volume heat emissions, etc. [1, 3, 20]. addition process that produces a high pressure For a long time, D-Gun technology has in the combustor and provides the formation of been the reference standard in producing high velocity impulse flow, which used for metallic and cermet coatings. However, as it powder heating and acceleration. A typical was available only as a service, no research duty cycle of detonation-gas spraying of work was published on the process. With the coatings and its main parameters are shown in transformations that occurred in the former Fig. 1. USSR, Russian equipment and literature on To facilitate the description and analysis the subject became available in the mid 1990s of basic physicochemical phenomena involved [19]. in the working cycle, nine principal steps will Gas detonation can be used to generate be considered: (1) filling the detonation gun thrust in engines, to induce force or destruction barrel with a fresh charge of combustible gas actions on objects located both inside and mixture (GF), (2) powder doze feeding into outside the device, to heat and accelerate DC (barrel) (PF), (3) creation of condensed particles, to rapidly burn the fuel, “phlegmatizing gas plug” between ignition etc. [19]. point and gas mixer (GP), (4) ignition of gas The development of detonation spraying mixture (Ig), (5) DC purging of residual gases is accompanied by broadening its industrial (Pr), (6) deflagration to detonation transition use [16]: deposition of coatings on aircraft (DDT), (7) impulse burn-out of the fresh engines and parts, jigs and fixtures [2], charge (B), (8) interaction of the powder strengthening of cumulative punches [8, 9], particles with an impulse flow of combustion improvement of wear resistance of work items products and two phase outflow from barrel re-adjustable dies [15], creation of a new (AP), (9) interaction of the gas-powder stream metal-working tools [17], hardening of with the substrate and single layer coating abrasive wheels, balancing of rotor systems formation (CF). [18], improvement of resistance to abrasion In the most general case the gaseous [21], etc. detonation gun (GDG), as an auto-oscillatory There are many different D-Gun designs system, has a block diagram shown in Fig.1. [14,23,24,28]. Unfortunately, the available The oscillatory system can also be represented literature contains no reliable data on the as a sequence of systems of the GDG itself and reliability of these devices and the comparative of the environment receiving the powder being analysis of their structural characteristics. processed (the product being coated, cooling Compared to HVOF or plasma spray chamber, etc.). The behavior (state) of the processes, much work, some of which is in environment may affect parameters of the progress, is necessary to better understand the working cycle because of the effect of phenomena of the D-gun process [10, 11]. feedbacks on the controllers and actuators. The aim of this work is to develop the Growing pressure to improve the performance basic principles of structural analysis and of D-Guns, as of IC engines, has resulted in synthesis of structures of high efficiency development of improved control systems [5]. 84 YURIY KHARLAMOV, MAKSYM KHARLAMOV Fig. 1. A typical duty cycle of detonation-gas spraying and its main parameters Fig. 2. Block diagram of gaseous detonation gun for thermal spraying DESIGN CONCEPTS OF GASEOUS DETONATION GUNS FOR THERMAL SPRAYING 85 The steps of an impulse burn-out of the the barrel first drops below atmospheric combustible mixture and formation of an pressure (because of the inertia of the flow) impulse heterogeneous stream are governing and then equalizes. The combustion chamber steps and depend greatly on the quality of is again filled with a fresh charge, and the barrel filling. Repetition of cycles causes the process is repeated. Thus, vibration burning fresh charge to contain a certain amount of with discontinuous oscillations (relaxation or combustion products and powder from the non-resonance burning) occurs in the barrel. preceding spraying cycle. The gases and The regularities in the burn-out of the powder, on the one hand, reduce the mass of a combustible mixture and in the outflow of fresh charge and, on the other hand, adversely combustion products from the barrel are the affect the processes of burn-out and formation scientific fundamentals to be considered in an of an impulse heterogeneous stream efficient development of spray-coating themselves. It is therefore natural to attempt to production processes [26]. However, this step reduce the fraction of residual gases and of the working cycle has not yet been studied powder in a fresh charge. Also the flow of a sufficiently. The most urgent issues for further working medium (purging gas, fresh investigations should include the following: combustible mixture or gas suspension of the the effect of design characteristics and the initial powder) has a limited time to overcome geometric configuration of the barrel, ignition the resistance of inlet paths, to contact heated chamber and other pre-barrel spaces on the surfaces etc. All this changes the density of the development and conditions of the working medium and hence also the mass of combustible mixture burn-out, outflow of charge capable of filling a barrel of detonation products and heat exchange with predetermined dimensions, the degree of barrel the barrel walls, the composition and filling, the spatial distribution of fresh charge properties of combustion products and their components in the barrel. The barrel-filling change during mixture burn-out and gas processes have been poorly studied. outflow from the barrel, the optimization of After the barrel has been filled, an the design characteristics of detonation- ignition source operates, installed in the spraying plants