Effect of surface roughness on splat shapes in the plasma spray coating process

We used a three-dimensional model of droplet impact and solidification to simulate the effect of surface roughness on the impact dynamics and the splat shape of an alumina droplet impinging onto a substrate. The substrate surface was patterned by a regular array of cubes spaced at an interval twice their size. Three different cube sizes were considered, and the results were compared to the case of droplet impact onto a smooth substrate. To understand the effect of solidification on the droplet impact dynamics and splat morphology, the simulations were run with and without considering solidification. Comparing the results, we have concluded that solidification plays a major role in determining splat shape on a rough surface. We also present results of the distribution of voids between the splat and the substrate.