Imaging Profilometry For In Situ Measurement of Plasma Spray Coating Thickness

TL;DRAbstract

Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCs), and plasma spray coatings in general, require critical control over the deposited thickness to achieve reliable coating performance. Currently, the plasma spray industry quantifies thickness by sampling the part before and after TBC deposition. Approximate thickness is thus inferred from previous runs. However, process variability can allow errors to propagate in this result that leads to wasted time and resources, and can ultimately lead to non-reliant coatings. To this end, an in situ optical fringe profilometer is developed that enables coating thickness measurements across a 2-dimensional surface. The initial profilometer concept is explored through requirements and trade studies, leading to a hardware and algorithm design family and prototype build to capture and compare real-world data to simulation and model predictions. This initial result shows a viable path-forward and the ability to achieve micrometer-scale depth resolution. Modifications and

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