The technology of metal deposition on different surfaces by means of DYMET^® equipment implies gas-dynamic coating method. The method is based on the discovery (made in 1980s) that particles moving at supersonic speed adhere to the surface after collision. This new technology has never found an industrial application before.

Key technology elements

The technology implies compressed gas (air) heating, moving it to the supersonic nozzle, forming supersonic air jet in the nozzle, feeding the powder material into this jet, accelerating the material in the supersonic air jet in the nozzle and depositing the material onto the treated surface.

Metal or alloy powders or their mixes with ceramic powders can be used as coating materials. The treated surface can be either eroded or coated with necessary metal compositions depending on the device operation mode. The porosity and thickness of a coating can be also tuned by regulation of the operation mode.

Technology peculiarities

Most traditional thermal spray coating methods imply high temperature of material particles deposited onto the surface. Typically this temperature exceeds the material melting point.

In gas-dynamic spraying technology (which can be practically referred to as 'metal "growing") this condition is not compulsory, what makes the technology unique. The technology implies surface interaction with not melted particles moving at extremely high velocities. Accelerating particles to necessary velocities is made in supersonic air jet by means of DYMET^® series devices developed by OCPS. This equipment has no analogues in traditional coating methods.

Attractiveness of gas-dynamic metal deposition method is that that the equipment devices and deposited coatings have no limitations inherent in other metal coating methods and feature number of technological, economic and environmental advantages.

Advantages

Gas-dynamic metal deposition method has number of advantages over traditional methods. These advantages are:

• coating is deposited in air atmosphere under normal pressure and any air temperature and air humidity;
• treated surface is heated negligibly during the coating deposition process;
• coating technology is environmentally friendly (no high temperatures, dangerous gases or radiation, no chemically aggressive wastes, which might be neutralized);
• treated surface is not always necessary to be heated;
• in case there is no layered rust on treated surface there is no need to specially prepare the surface (jet of particles moving at high velocities itself clears the surface from technical impurities, oils and paints and activates the crystal structure of the surface material);
• jet of deposited particles is narrow and has small cross-section; this makes possible to deposit coatings on local surface areas within certain frames (traditional thermal spray coating methods do not provide this opportunity);
• it is possible to deposit multi-component coatings with varying layer thickness;
• equipment devices are compact, mobile, practically available for any industrial enterprise; it doesn't require highly qualified personnel;
• simple operation mode changing provides the opportunity for micro erosion (spray abrasive) surface treatment for further coating deposition or decorative surface treatment;
• one device can be used for obtaining different coating types;
• equipment can be used under field conditions.

Wide application range and excellent quality of different coatings were many times confirmed by laboratory tests and industrial use. Some coating deposition problems can be resolved only by using DYMET^® equipment. Such problems couldn't be practically resolved by using any other methods or equipment.