Deposition of plasma sprayed copper slag coatings on metal substrates

Abstract

Copper slag is a waste product obtained during matte smelting and refining of copper. The present work explores the coating potential of copper slag by plasma spraying. This work shows that copper slag is eminently coatable. When premixed with alumina powder, the coating exhibits higher interfacial adhesion as compared to pure copper slag coatings. Maximum adhesion strengths of about 23 and 27 MPa are recorded in for the coatings of copper slag with 15 wt.% of alumina on aluminium and mild steel substrates respectively. The input power to the plasma torch is found to affect the coating deposition efficiency and morphology of the coatings.