On March 16th, 2022, Maxence Gombault defended his thesis at the Université de Limoges, which supervised his work along with the IRCER Laboratory (Institut de Recherche sur les Céramiques), the SIMME Doctoral School, and the IRT Saint Exupéry as Maxence was part of the FREEzING project.
ABOUT HIS THESIS
“Elaboration of multifunctional coatings by suspension plasma spray for aeronautical applications”
Abstract
In aerospace, the exterior parts of aircrafts are subjected to strong erosion stresses, but also to ice accretion. One potential solution to protect them from erosion and ice is a ceramic coating. The latter can be applied by plasma spray of powders (conventional process) or suspensions (submicron particles in a solvent). If the first technique leads to coatings with a lamellar microstructure, the second allows a wide variety of finer microstructures.
This work focuses on the erosion and ice resistance of Al2O3-TiO2 coatings made by Suspension Plasma Spray (SPS) on titanium alloy substrates. The latter were tested by using a 10 000-impact standardized rain erosion test (PJET) and solid particle impingement test (ASTM G76).
Icephobic properties are characterized by measuring the pulling force of the ice previously formed on the coatings. In parallel, SPS process is studied in depth through advanced diagnostic tools allowing collection of in-flight particles and splats in order to establish a causal link with growth conditions and phase composition of the coatings. This work was performed in the frame of the FREEzING project, piloted by the IRT Saint Exupéry in collaboration with Safran, Airbus, Liebherr and was founded by the ANR.
ABOUT FREEzING PROJECT
The FREEzING project aims to develop and evaluate the glaciophobic properties of coatings elaborated by various surface treatment processes (dry and wet process) for aeronautical applications. The goal is to provide durable anti-icing properties to the treated surfaces. This project also focuses on the development and evaluation of the fire protection properties of ceramic coatings elaborated by various surface treatment processes (dry and wet process) for aeronautical applications. Eventually, FREEzING also develops electrically insulating carbon fiber coatings in acoustic cavities of composite panels.
JURY
| Simon GOUTIER | Thesis Director & Examiner | IRCER, Limoges |
| Christophe CHAZELAS | Thesis Director & Examiner | IRCER, Limoges |
| Julien ESCOBAR | Thesis Director & Examiner | IRT Saint Exupéry, Toulouse |
| Aurélien JOULIA | Thesis Co-Director & Examiner | Safran Tech, Magny-les-Hameaux |
| Sophie SENANI | Thesis Co-Director & Guest | Safran Tech, Magny-les-Hameaux |
| Armelle VARDELLE | Thesis Co-Director & Guest | IRCER, Limoges |
| Karine VALLE | Examiner | CEA Le Ripault |
| Francis REBILLAT | Examiner | LCTS, Bordeaux |
| Vincent GUIPONT | Reviewer | MINES Paris Tech-PSL |
| Frédéric ROUSSEAU | Reviewer | Institut de Recherche de Chimie Paris |
| Alain ALLIMANT | Guest | Saint-Gobain Research Provence, Cavaillon |
| Alain DENOIRJEAN | Guest | Université de Limoges |