Superhydrophoibcity of Thermally Sprayed Coatings

Researchers

Navid Sharifi, PhD candidate

Milad Mousavi, M.A.Sc student

Dr. Fadhel Ben Ettouil

Dr. Ali Dolatabadi

Partners

Dr. Martin Pugh, Concordia University

Dr. Christian Moreau, CNRC Boucherville

 

Project

Hydrophobic and hydrophilic are commonly used to describe wetting behavior of the surfaces. These terms label the interaction of the surface of a solid phase with water. A surface is considered hydrophobic if it has a tendency to not be wetted by water and has a water contact angle (WCA) of above 90°. There are several important practical applications for superhydrophobic surfaces ranging from self-leaning window glasses, paints, and fabrics to low-friction surfaces. One major potential application of superhydrophobic or highly hydrophobic surfaces is in aerospace, where several problems are caused by icing, mainly due to striking of super-cooled water droplets onto a solid surface.

The goal of this work is to develop coatings with relatively high water repellency using APS and SPS processes to produce coatings with relatively high water repellency. Titanium dioxide is a common thermal spraying material and it is naturally hydrophilic.

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Figure 1 : SEM image of the surface morphology of a titanium APS coating. Inset: A sessile drop of water on this surface

 

 

Figure 2 : SEM image of the surface morphology of a titanium SPS coating. Inset: A sessile drop of water on this surface