Thermal spraying is a coating process in which a coating material in wire or powder form is melted or fused by applying thermal energy and accelerated by a gas flow in the direction of a component surface to be coated. In contrast to welding, the base material is not melted. Adhesion is mainly achieved by mechanical interlocking in superposition with induced shrinkage stresses. Residual stresses and metallurgical interactions as well as diffusion processes and van der Waals forces also influence the layer adhesion.
