Method of thermal spray coating fiber-reinforced composite materials

Abstract

A method of coating a fiber-reinforced composite material includes providing a fiber-reinforced composite workpiece, treating a surface of the workpiece to remove at least a portion of a polymer matrix and to expose fibers to a treated surface of the workpiece, and coating the treated surface of the workpiece using a thermal spray coating process. The treatment can include laser ablating or applying a peel ply process. The method yields a coated fiber-reinforced composite workpiece with the coating being bonded directly to the fibers via diffusion of the coating into the fibers, the formation of an intermediate compound at an interface of the coating and the fibers, or both.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A coated fiber-reinforced composite workpiece comprising:
 a fiber-reinforced composite substrate including fibers distributed in a matrix; and   a thermal spray coating applied to the substrate, the coating being bonded directly to the fibers via diffusion of the coating into the fibers, the formation of an intermediate compound at an interface of the coating and the fibers, or both.   
     
     
         2 . The coated fiber-reinforced composite workpiece of  claim 1 , wherein a particle size of the thermal spray coating ranges from 5-30 micrometers. 
     
     
         3 . The coated fiber-reinforced composite workpiece of  claim 1 , wherein a particle size of the thermal spray coating includes a distribution of 20-25 micrometers within a particle size range from 5-100 micrometers. 
     
     
         4 . The coated fiber-reinforced composite workpiece of  claim 1 , wherein the coating includes suspension plasma spray (SPS) having a slurry feedstock with particulate sized at 9 micrometers or smaller. 
     
     
         5 . The coated fiber-reinforced composite workpiece of  claim 1 , wherein the coating includes solution precursor plasma spray (SPPS) having a metalorganic feedstock with particulate sized at 9 micrometers or smaller. 
     
     
         6 . The coated fiber-reinforced composite workpiece of  claim 1 , wherein the workpiece is a glass-fiber reinforced polymer and the coating includes aluminum, or zirconium, or magnesium, or beryllium, or gadolinium, neodymium, or other silicate formers bonded directly to exposed glass fibers, and wherein a silicate forms at an interface between the coating and the glass fibers. 
     
     
         7 . The coated fiber-reinforced composite workpiece of  claim 6 , wherein the coating contains aluminum bonded directly to exposed glass fibers, and wherein aluminum silicate forms at an interface between the coating and the glass fibers. 
     
     
         8 . The coated fiber-reinforced composite workpiece of  claim 1 , wherein the workpiece is a carbon-fiber reinforced polymer and the coating includes tungsten, or titanium, or tantalum, or vanadium, or zirconium, or hafnium, or chromium, or other carbide formers in the Group 4, 5, and 6 metals, or boron, or silicon, and wherein a carbide forms at an interface between the coating and the carbon fibers. 
     
     
         9 . The coated fiber-reinforced composite workpiece of  claim 8 , wherein the coating contains tungsten bonded directly to exposed carbon fibers, and wherein tungsten carbide forms at an interface between the coating and the carbon fibers. 
     
     
         10 . The coated fiber-reinforced composite workpiece of  claim 1 , wherein the composite workpiece includes a glass-fiber reinforced polymer. 
     
     
         11 . The coated fiber-reinforced composite workpiece of  claim 1 , wherein the composite workpiece includes a carbon-fiber reinforced polymer. 
     
     
         12 . A method of coating a fiber-reinforced composite material, the method comprising: providing a fiber-reinforced composite workpiece;
 treating a surface of the workpiece to remove at least a portion of a polymer matrix and to expose fibers to a treated surface of the workpiece; and   coating the treated surface of the workpiece using a thermal spray coating process.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the fiber-reinforced composite material is a carbon-fiber reinforced polymer. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the coating contains tungsten, or titanium, or tantalum, or other carbide formers in the Group 4, 5, and 6 metals, or boron, or silicon. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the fiber-reinforced composite material is a glass-fiber reinforced polymer. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the coating contains aluminum, or zirconium, or magnesium, or beryllium, or gadolinium, or neodymium, or other silicate formers. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein treating a surface includes laser ablating the surface. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the laser ablating is performed using a UV laser. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the coating includes a material having a melting point greater than 1,000 C. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the thermal spray coating process is one of plasma-arc spray, suspension plasma spray (SPS), solution precursor plasma spray (SPPS), flame spray, electric-arc spray, or cold spray. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein treating a surface includes a peel ply process followed by at least one of polishing, sanding, or grit blasting. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein coating the treated surface includes coating with a thermal spray coating having a particle size distribution of 20-25 micrometers within a particle size range from 5-100 micrometers. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein coating the treated surface includes coating with suspension plasma spray (SPS) having a slurry feedstock with particulate sized at 9 micrometers or smaller. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein coating the treated surface includes coating with solution precursor plasma spray (SPPS) having a metalorganic feedstock with particulate sized at 9 micrometers or smaller.