Highly pure powder intended for thermal spraying

Abstract

Powder of particles, more than 95% by number of said particles exhibiting a circularity greater than or equal to 0.85, wherein said powder contains more than 99.8% of a rare earth oxide and/or of hafnium oxide and/or of yttrium aluminum oxide, as percentage by weight relative to the oxides, and has: a median particle size D 50 of between 10 and 40 microns and a size dispersion index (D 90D 10)/D 50 of less than 3; a percentage by number of particles having a size less than or equal to 5 m which is less than 5%; an apparent-density dispersion index (P<50P)/P of less than 0.2, the cumulative specific volume of the pores which have a radius of less than 1 m being less than 10% of the apparent volume of the powder, in which the percentiles Dn of the powder are the particle sizes corresponding to the percentages, by number, of n %, on the curve of cumulative distribution of the particle size of the powder, the particle sizes being classified in increasing order, the density P<50 being the apparent density of the fraction of particles having a size less than or equal to D50, and the density P being the apparent density of the powder.

Claims

1. A powder formed of particles, more than 95% by number of said particles exhibiting a circularity of greater than or equal to 0.85, said powder comprising more than 99.8% of a rare earth metal oxide and/or of hafnium oxide and/or of an yttrium-aluminum oxide, as percentage by weight on the basis of the oxides, and having: a median particle size D.sub.50 of between 10 and 40 microns and a size dispersion index (D.sub.90D.sub.10)/D.sub.50 of less than 3; a percentage by number of particles having a size of less than or equal to 5 m which is less than 5%; a bulk density dispersion index (P.sub.<50P)/P of less than 0.2, a cumulative specific volume of the pores having a radius of less than 1 m being less than 10% of the bulk volume of the powder, in which the D.sub.n percentiles of the powder are the particle sizes corresponding to the percentages, by number, of n %, on a cumulative distribution curve of the size of the particles of the powder, the particle sizes being classified by increasing order, the density P.sub.<50 being the bulk density of the fraction of the particles having a size of less than or equal to D.sub.50, and the density P being the bulk density of the powder, the powder being manufactured according to a process comprising: a) granulation using a binder so as to obtain a set formed of granules having a median size D.sub.50 of between 20 and 60 microns and a circularity of 0.8 or more and comprising more than 99.8% of a rare earth metal oxide and/or of hafnium oxide and/or of an yttrium-aluminum oxide, as percentage by weight on the basis of the oxides; b) injecting said set formed of granules, via a carrier gas, through an injector as far as a plasma jet generated by a plasma gun, so as to obtain molten droplets; c) cooling said molten droplets so as to obtain the powder formed of the particles; and d) optionally, performing particle size selection of the powder.

2. The powder as claimed in claim 1, in which: the median size of the particles D.sub.50 is greater than 15 m, and/or the size dispersion index (D.sub.90D.sub.10)/D.sub.50 is less than 2.2 and/or greater than 0.4, and/or the percentage by number of particles having a size of less than 10 micrometers is less than 3%, and/or the specific surface of the particles of the powder is less than 3 m.sup.2/g, and/or the bulk density dispersion index (P.sub.<50P)/P is less than 0.15.

3. The powder as claimed in claim 1, in which: the median size of the particles D.sub.50 is less than 30 m, and/or the size dispersion index (D.sub.90D.sub.10)/D.sub.50 is less than 1.3, and/or the percentage by number of the particles having a size of less than 10 micrometers is less than 2%, and/or the specific surface of the particles of the powder is less than 1 m.sup.2/g, and/or the bulk density dispersion index (P.sub.<50P)/P is less than 0.1.

4. The powder as claimed in claim 1, in which: the size dispersion index (D.sub.90D.sub.10)/D.sub.50 is greater than 0.7, and/or the specific surface of the particles of the powder is less than 0.5 m.sup.2/g.

5. The powder as claimed in claim 1, having a relative density greater than 0.4, where the relative density is equal to a bulk density of said powder divided by a real density of said powder.

6. The powder as claimed in claim 1, in which the bulk density of the particles is greater than 2.25.

7. A process for the manufacture of a powder as claimed in claim 1, said process comprising the following stages: a) granulation using a binder so as to obtain a set formed of granules having a median size D50 of between 20 and 60 microns and having a circularity of 0.8 or more and comprising more than 99.8% of a rare earth metal oxide and/or of hafnium oxide and/or of an yttrium-aluminum oxide, as percentage by weight on the basis of the oxides; b) injection of said set formed of granules, via a carrier gas, through an injector as far as a plasma jet generated by a plasma gun, so as to obtain molten droplets; c) cooling said molten droplets, so as to obtain the powder; d) optionally, particle size selection of said powder.

8. The process as claimed in claim 7, in which said plasma gun is configured in order to generate said plasma jet around an axis X forming an angle of less than 30 with a vertical line.

9. The process as claimed in claim 7, in which a cooling fluid is injected into said plasma jet so as to cool said droplets, the cooling fluid being injected toward the downstream direction of the plasma jet and the angle between the path of the droplets and the path for the cooling fluid being less than or equal to 80.

10. The process as claimed in claim 9, in which an annular stream of cooling fluid is generated around an axis X forming an angle of less than 30 with a vertical line.

11. The process as claimed in claim 9, in which a minimum distance between an external surface of an anode of said plasma gun and a region where the droplets come into contact with said cooling fluid is between 50 mm and 400 mm.

12. The process as claimed in claim 7, in which the granulation comprises an atomization.

13. A thermal spraying process comprising a stage of thermal spraying of a powder as claimed in claim 1 or manufactured as claimed in claim 7.

14. A treatment chamber for semiconductors, said chamber comprising a wall protected by a liner, said liner comprising more than 99.95% of a rare earth metal oxide and/or of a hafnium oxide and/or of an yttrium-aluminum oxide, as percentage by weight on the basis of the of oxides, and exhibiting a porosity of less than or equal to 1.5%, said liner being a thermally sprayed powder, the powder being as claimed in claim 1.

Description

QUICK DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become more clearly apparent on reading the description which will follow and on examining the appended drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 diagrammatically represents a process for the manufacture of a spray-dried only (SDO) powder;

(3) FIG. 2 diagrammatically represents a plasma torch for the manufacture of a feed powder according to the invention;

(4) FIG. 3 diagrammatically represents a process for manufacturing a feed powder according to the invention;

(5) FIG. 4 illustrates the method which is used to evaluate the circularity of a particle,

(6) FIG. 5 is a photograph of the powder G3 formed of spray-dried only (SDO) particles according to the invention,

(7) FIG. 6 is a photograph of the powder formed of particles G4,

(8) FIG. 7 is a photograph of the powder obtained according to example I1 illustrating the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(9) Process for the Manufacture of a Feed Powder

(10) FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of stage a) of a process for the manufacture of a feed powder according to the invention.

(11) Any known granulation process can be used. In particular, a person skilled in the art knows how to prepare a slip suitable for a granulation.

(12) In one embodiment, a binder mixture is prepared by addition of PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) 2 to deionized water 4. This binder mixture 6 is subsequently filtered through a 5 m filter 8. Yttrium oxide powder 10 (for example with a purity of 99.99%), with a median size of 1 m, is mixed into the filtered binder mixture to form a slip 12. The slip may comprise, by weight, for example, 55% of yttrium oxide and 0.55% of PVA, the remainder to 100% being composed of water. This slip is injected into an atomizer 14 in order to obtain a powder formed of granules 16 having a D.sub.10 of 20 m and a D.sub.90 of 63 m. A person skilled in the art knows how to adapt the atomizer in order to obtain the desired particle size distribution.

(13) Preferably, the granules are agglomerates of particles of an oxide material exhibiting a median size of less than 3 m, preferably of less than 2 m, and preferably of less than 1.5 m. The powder formed of granules can be sieved (5 mm sieve 18, for example) in order to eliminate the possible presence of residual materials fallen from the walls of the atomizer.

(14) The resulting powder 20 is a spray-dried only (SDO) powder formed of granules.

(15) FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate an embodiment of the melting stage b) of a process for the manufacture of a feed powder according to the invention.

(16) An SDO powder formed of granules 20, for example, as manufactured according to the process illustrated in FIG. 1, is injected by an injector 21 into a plasma jet 22 produced by a plasma gun 24, for example a ProPlasma HP. Conventional injection and plasma spraying techniques may be used, so as to mix the SDO powder formed of granules with a carrier gas and to inject the resulting mixture into the heart of the hot plasma.

(17) However, the powder formed of granules which is injected does not have to be consolidated. In the absence of any intermediate consolidation stage, that is to say in the preferred embodiment, the injection has to be carried out gently in order to avoid any breaking of granules. A person skilled in the art knows how to adapt the injection parameters for a gentle injection of the granules and how to choose the granules so that the feed powder obtained on conclusion of stages c) or d) has a composition and a particle size distribution according to the invention.

(18) Recourse to gentle injection is not conventional. This is because it is generally considered as preferable to inject the particles so as to disperse them in a very viscous plasma jet which flows at a very high speed. When the injected particles come into contact with such a plasma jet, they are subjected to valid impacts, which can break them in pieces. In order to penetrate the plasma jet, the particles to be dispersed are thus generally injected with a high speed, so as to benefit from a high kinetic energy. The particles to be injected must also exhibit a high mechanical strength in order to withstand these impacts.

(19) Contrary to the conventional technique, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, nonconsolidated granules and in particular nonsintered granules are injected into a plasma torch, optionally a conventional torch, the parameters of which are adjusted so that the speed of the plasma jet and the speed of the injected granules are low, preferably as low as possible. A person skilled in the art knows that the speed of the plasma jet can be reduced by using an anode of large diameter and/or by reducing the flow rate of the primary gas. A person skilled in the art also knows that the speed of the granules is determined by the flow rate of the carrier gas.

(20) Of course, the energy of the plasma jet, determined by the flow rate of the secondary gas, has to be sufficiently high to cause the granules to melt.

(21) The powder formed of granules is injected with a carrier gas, preferably without any liquid. The ranges preferred for the parameters of the melting stage b) are presented in table 1.

(22) In the plasma jet 22, the granules are melted to give droplets 25.

(23) This melting advantageously makes it possible to reduce the content of impurities.

(24) On the departure from the hot region of the plasma jet, the droplets are rapidly cooled by the surrounding cold air and also by forced circulation 26 of a cooling gas, preferably air. The air advantageously limits the reducing effect of the hydrogen.

(25) Preferably, the forced cooling is generated by an assembly of nozzles 28 positioned around the axis X of the plasma jet 22, so as to create a substantially conical or annular flow of cooling gas.

(26) The plasma gun 24 is oriented vertically toward the ground. Preferably, the angle between the vertical and the axis X of the plasma gun is less than 10, preferably less than 5. Advantageously, the cooling gas stream is thus perfectly centered with respect to the axis X of the plasma jet.

(27) Preferably, the minimum distance d between the external surface of the anode and the region of cooling (where the droplets come into contact with the injected cooling fluid) is between 50 mm and 400 mm, preferably between 100 mm and 300 mm.

(28) Advantageously, the forced cooling limits the generation of secondaries, resulting from the contact between very large hot particles and small particles in suspension in the densification chamber 32. Furthermore, such a cooling operation makes it possible to reduce the overall size of the treatment equipment, in particular the size of the collecting chamber.

(29) The cooling of the droplets 25 makes it possible to obtain feed particles 30 which can be extracted in the lower part of the densification chamber 32.

(30) The densification chamber may be connected to a cyclone 34, the exhaust gases of which are directed to a dust collector 36, so as to separate very fine particles 40. These very fine particles may result from the disintegration of the fragile granules in the plasma jet, although the preferred process of the invention makes it possible to limit these disintegrations. Depending on the configuration, some feed particles in accordance with the invention may also be collected in the cyclone. Preferably, these feed particles may be separated, in particular with an air separator.

(31) Optionally, the collected feed particles 38 may be filtered, so that the median size D.sub.50 is between 10 and 40 microns.

(32) The preferred parameters for manufacturing a feed powder according to the invention are provided in the following table.

(33) The characteristics of a column are preferably but not necessarily combined. The characteristics of the two columns may also be combined.

(34) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Preferred Even more preferred characteristics characteristics Stage b) Gun High performance ProPlasma HP gun gun with a low wear (in order to treat the powder without contaminating it) Anode Diameter >7 mm HP8 anode (diameter of 8 mm) Cathode Doped tungsten ProPlasma cathode cathode Gas injector Partially radial ProPlasma HP setup injection (swirling gas injection) Current 500-700 A 650 A Power >40 kW Approximately 45 kW Nature of the primary gas Ar or N.sub.2 Ar Flow rate of the primary <50 l/min, 36 l/min gas preferably <40 l/min Nature of the secondary H.sub.2 H.sub.2 gas Flow rate of the >20 vol % of the Approximately 25 secondary gas plasmagenic gas vol % of the mixture plasmagenic gas mixture Injection of the powder formed of granules Total flow rate of powder <180 g/min 120 g/min injected (g/min) Diameter of the injection >1.85 mm >2.0 mm orifices (mm) Nature of the carrier gas Ar or N.sub.2 Ar Flow rate of the carrier <5.5 l/min 3.5 l/min gas per injection orifice Injection angle with 70-85 75-83 respect to the axis X of the plasma jet (angle in FIG. 2) Distance between an >10 mm 12 mm injection orifice and the axis X of the plasma jet Cooling of the droplets Cooling parameters Conical or annular air curtain, oriented toward the downstream direction of the plasma jet Angle between the Toward the Toward the direction of injection of downstream downstream direction the cooling fluid, from direction of of the plasma a nozzle, and the axis X the plasma jet, 30 and <60 of the plasma jet jet, 10 Total flow rate of the 10-70 Sm.sup.3/h 35-50 Sm.sup.3/h forced cooling fluid Flow rate of the exhaust 100-700 Sm.sup.3/h 250-500 Sm.sup.3/h gas Mean speed of the <200 m/s 130-150 m/s droplets Mean temperature of the >2000 C. Approximately droplets 2200 C. Mean cooling rate 50 000 to 200 000 C./s

(35) The most preferred characteristics are in particular adapted for a powder injection flow rate of 120 g/min (powder formed of granules of yttrium oxide).

(36) The speed and the temperature of the droplets are evaluated by a SprayWatch system, from Oseir, positioned 100 mm downstream of the injection of the powder, with an injection flow rate of 40 g/min.

(37) The cooling rate is estimated for a powder having a median size D.sub.50 between 10 and 40 microns, under an airstream.

(38) The ProPlasma HP plasma torch is sold by Saint-Gobain Coating Solution. This torch corresponds to the T1 torch described in WO2010/103497, incorporated by reference.

(39) Feed Powder

(40) The inventors have discovered that, surprisingly, a feed powder according to the invention is very homogeneous from one feed particle to another.

(41) A pure feed powder of yttrium oxide according to the invention may exhibit a bulk density of 2.30 g/cm.sup.3 to 2.60 g/cm.sup.3. The cumulative specific volume of the pores with a radius of less than 1 m, measured according to the standard ISO 15901-1, may be less than 2010.sup.3 cm.sup.3/g.

(42) Without being restricted by this theory, the inventors have observed that, surprisingly, the majority of the particles having a size of less than 20 microns are solid, that is to say without a central cavity, whereas the majority of the particles having a size of greater than 20 microns are hollow with a very dense wall. This observation may explain why, surprisingly, the bulk density dispersion index of a feed powder according to the invention is less than 0.2.

(43) The hollow particles normally exhibit a shell which has a thickness of approximately 5 to 10 microns. As the median size of the particles D.sub.50 is less than 40 microns and the size dispersion index (D.sub.90-D.sub.10)/D.sub.50 is less than 3, the hollow particles are thus efficiently melted in the plasma jet, in the same way as the finest solid particles. The percentage of particles injected into the plasma jet which are completely melted is thus very high, which may result, in particular for a Y.sub.2O.sub.3 liner, in a porosity less than or equal to 1%.

(44) As the median size of the particles D.sub.50 is greater than or equal to 10 microns and the size dispersion index (D.sub.90-D.sub.10)/D.sub.50 is less than 3, the feed powder comprises substantially no very fine particles. Advantageously, the kinetic energy of the particles is thus also adapted for good penetration into the plasma jet.

(45) The size dispersion index is preferably greater than or equal to 0.4, in order to avoid excessive costs.

(46) The low bulk density dispersion index and the specific size distribution of a feed powder according to the invention advantageously results in a very homogeneous and very dense liner when this feed powder is sprayed with a plasma torch.

(47) Finally, the specific size distribution of a feed powder according to the invention advantageously confers on it a flowability entirely suited to plasma spraying.

(48) Plasma Deposition

(49) The deposition of particles in order to produce a liner using a plasma gun is a conventional technique. Any known technique may be used. The preferred parameters are provided in the following table.

(50) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Deposition of the liner: preferred parameters Gun ProPlasma HP gun Anode HP 6.5 anode (diameter: 6.5 mm) Cathode ProPlasma doped tungsten cathode Current >600 A, preferably approximately 650 A Power >40 kW, preferably approximately 49 kW Nature of the primary gas Argon Flow rate of the primary >35 l/min, preferably approximately gas 40 l/min Nature of the secondary gas Hydrogen Flow rate of the secondary >20% of the plasmagenic mixture, gas preferably approximately 25% Nature of the carrier gas Argon Flow rate of the carrier Approximately 5 l/min gas Injection flow rate of the 30 to 90, preferably 50 to 70 feed powder (g/min) Spraying distance >90 mm, preferably approximately 120 mm Diameter of the injector 1.8 mm for 25 to 35 g/min per injector orifice (mm) Distance between the <10 mm, preferably approximately 6 mm injector and the axis of the plasma jet Injection angle with 90 (perpendicular to the axis) respect to the axis of the plasma jet Rate of displacement of >800 mm/s, preferably approximately the gun 1000 mm/s Pitch (mm) 1-5 mm, preferably approximately 2 mm Nature of the substrate Metal (steel, aluminum, anodized aluminum and the like) or ceramic (aluminum, and the like)

(51) The metal substrates may be cooled, for example with air, for example by cooling nozzles mounted on the plasma torch in order to keep the temperature of the substrate below 300 C., preferably below 150 C. In the case of substrates made of ceramic, a preheating may be carried out in order to improve the adhesion (as described, for example, in the U.S. Pat. No. 7,329,467).

EXAMPLES

(52) The following examples are provided for the purposes of illustration and do not limit the scope of the invention.

(53) The feed powders I1 to I5, C1 and C2 were manufactured according to the invention with a plasma torch similar to the plasma torch represented in FIG. 2, starting from a source of pure Y.sub.2O.sub.3 powder having a median diameter D.sub.50 of 1.2 microns, measured with a Horiba laser particle analyzer, and a chemical purity of 99.999% of Y.sub.2O.sub.3.

(54) In stage a), a binder mixture is prepared by addition of PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) binder 2 to deionized water 4. This binder mixture is subsequently filtered through a 5 m filter 8. Yttrium oxide powder 10 is mixed into the filtered binder mixture in order to form a slip 12. The slip is prepared so as to comprise a percentage by weight, 55% of yttrium oxide and 0.55% of PVA, the remainder to 100% being deionized water. The slip is intensively mixed using a high shear speed mixer.

(55) The granules G3 and G6 were subsequently obtained by atomization of the slip, using an atomizer. In particular, the slip is atomized in the chamber of a GEA Niro SD 6.3 R atomizer, the slip being introduced at a flow rate of approximately 0.38 l/min.

(56) The speed of the rotating atomization wheel, driven by a Niro FS1 motor, is regulated in order to obtain the targeted sizes of the granules. The speed of this wheel is higher for the manufacture of the G3 granules than for the manufacture of the G6 granules.

(57) The air flow rate is adjusted in order to maintain the inlet temperature 295 C. and the outlet temperature at approximately 125 C., so that the residual moisture content of the granules is between 0.5% and 1%.

(58) In stage b), the granules of stage a) are injected into a plasma produced with a plasma gun.

(59) In order to cool the droplets, 7 Silvent 2021L nozzles, sold by Silvent, were attached to a Silvent 463 annular nozzle holder, sold by Silvent. The nozzles are uniformly spaced along the annular nozzle holder, so as to generate a substantially conical airstream.

(60) The powder collecting yield in the chamber 38 is the ratio of the amount of feed particles collected in the chamber 38 to the total amount of granules injected into the plasma.

(61) The powder I1 exhibits the best compromise between the yield, which has to be as high as possible, and the percentages of very fine particles (<10 m and <5 m), which have to be as low as possible, with an acceptable bulk density.

(62) The powder I5 is used to illustrate the effect of the size dispersion index. This powder was obtained from granules G6 by plasma treatment.

(63) The comparative feed powder G3 was manufactured according to the same stage a) as I1 and I5, but it was not subjected to stages b) and c) before being sprayed in order to form a liner.

(64) The comparative feed powder G4 was manufactured like G3 but, after the spray drying stage, the powder was sintered under air at 1600 C. for a period of time of two hours.

(65) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Spray Spray dried dried and Treatment of the powder Spray dried + plasma spraying only sintered Granules (particles obtained after spray drying) Reference of the granules G3 G6 G3 G4 Type of granules Spray dried yttrium oxide powder Granules D.sub.10 (m) 23.4 23 Granules D.sub.50 (m) 39.0 47 Granules D.sub.90 (m) 63.0 102 Mean bulk density 1.05 0.95 1.05 1.45 Cumulative specific volume of the pores 260 430 260 140 having a radius of less than 1 micron (10.sup.3 cm.sup.3/g of the powder sample) Single consolidation stage b): injection Feed rate for granules 120 g/min 150 g/min Number of injection orifices (powder 3 4 lines) Angle of injection with respect to the axis 80 toward the downstream direction X of the plasma jet (angle in FIG. 2) Distance of the injector (radially from the 12 mm 14 mm 12 mm 12 mm axis of the gun) Diameter of the injector 2.0 mm 1.8 mm 2.0 mm 1.8 mm Flow rate of the argon carrier gas (per 3.5 l/min 6.0 l/min 3.5 l/min 6.0 l/min powder line) Single consolidation stage b): melting Plasma gun used ProPlasma HP Diameter of the anode of the plasma gun 8 mm Voltage (V) 74 Power (kW) 48 Plasmagenic gas mixture Ar + H.sub.2 Flow rate of the plasmagenic gas 48 l/min 48 l/min H.sub.2 ratio in the plasmagenic gas 25% Intensity of the plasma arc 650A 650A Single consolidation stage b): cooling Annular cooling nozzles 7 Silvent 2021L nozzles attached to a Silvent 463 annular nozzle holder Total flow rate of cooling air (Sm.sup.3/h) 0 60 42 35 42 42 Flow rate of the air in the cyclone (Sm.sup.3/h) 650 650 650 350 350 350 Powder collecting yield in the chamber 54% 13% 30% 77% 20% 59% 57% (28) Feed particles collected (feed powder) Reference I1 I2 I3 I4 C1 I5 C2 G3 G4 D.sub.10 (m) 153 15.7 15.8 14.9 10 13.1 7 23.4 15.5 D.sub.50 (m) 24.9 25.0 25.0 24.1 22 31.8 22 39.0 27.3 D.sub.90 (m) 37.2 37.4 37.0 36.8 35 79.1 85 63.0 43.2 (D.sub.90 D.sub.10)/D.sub.50 0.86 0.87 0.85 0.91 1.1 2.1 3.5 1.0 1.0 Fraction by number < or equal to 10 m 1.8% 2.4% 2.4% 2.6% 10.3% 4.5% 13.8% 1.1% 2.6% Fraction by number < or equal to 5 m 0.9% 1.5 1.5 1.2 5.1% 0.2% 8.7% 1.0% 0.6% Median circularity C.sub.50 0.993 0.996 0.994 0.990 0.982 0.967 0.942 0.985 0.956 Circularity C.sub.5 0.902 0.909 0.905 0.888 0.895 0.862 0.839 0.843 0.854 Median aspect ratio A.sub.50 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.94 0.90 0.91 0.80 Specific surface (m.sup.2/g) 0.44 0.27 0.41 0.35 0.57 0.52 0.80 6.2 0.88 Level of impurities measured by GDMS <150 ppm <150 ppm <150 ppm <150 ppm <150 ppm <150 ppm <150 ppm <300 ppm <300 ppm Bulk density measured by mercury 2.37 2.50 2.49 2.31 2.53 2.25 2.1 1.05 1.45 porosimetry Calculated relative density 0.47 0.50 0.50 0.46 0.50 0.45 0.42 0.21 0.29 Cumulative specific volume of the pores 13 8 9 13 7 30 80 260 140 having a radius of less than 1 micron (10.sup.3 cm.sup.3/g of the powder sample) Cumulative specific volume of the pores 3.1 2.0 2.2 3.0 1.8 7 17 27 20 having a radius of less than 1 micron (% of the powder bulk volume) (P.sub.<50 P)/P or bulk density dispersion 0.08 0.04 0.03 0.10 0.02 0.07 0.17 index

(66) Table 3 shows that gentle injection parameters, with a large injector diameter and a low flow rate of the argon carrier gas, help in reducing the amount of very fine particles in the pure yttrium oxide feed powder, which are harmful to the final liner. A low amount of very fine particles also facilitates the application of the liner by thermal spraying. It improves the flowability and the deposition yield.

(67) The liners on an aluminum substrate were obtained using feed powders I1, I5, C1, C2, G3 and G4. The plasma spraying parameters are summarized in table 4.

(68) The porosity of the liners was measured by analysis of images obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on polished sections of samples having a mean thickness of 0.4 mm.

(69) TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Example 1 2 3* 4* 5 6* 7* Feed powder I1 I1 G3 G4 I5 C2 C1 Plasma torch ProPlasma HP Diameter of the anode 6.5 mm Power Current (A) 650 generator Voltage (V) 74 Power (kW) 48 Plasmagenic Argon (l/min) 40 gas Hydrogen (l/min) 13 Helium (l/min) 0 Spraying of Carrier gas Ar the powder Flow rate of the carrier gas 5.0 (l/min) Injection flow rate of the 50 70 70 70 50 50 powder (g/min) Spraying distance (distance 100 120 120 120 100 100 between the outlet of the torch and the substrate) (mm) Diameter of the orifice for the 1.8 mm injection of the powder to be sprayed Distance between the injector 6.0 mm and the axis X of the plasma jet Angle of injection with 90 respect to the axis X of the plasma jet Liner Porosity (%) 0.7 1.0 1.9 1.9 1.4 3.0 1.8 Deposition yield (%) 60.5 57.2 21.9 30.6 45 40 49 Spraying productivity (g/min) 30 40 15 21 32 20 25 *outside the invention

(70) The liners of the examples of the invention are very dense and are manufactured with a good deposition yield and a good spraying productivity.

(71) Comparative examples 3* and 4* respectively show that the use of a nonconsolidated feed powder or of a sintered feed powder instead of feed powder according to the invention (feed powder resulting from plasma melting of nonconsolidated granules: I1 and I5) considerably increases the porosity of the liner.

(72) Examples 5 and 6* show that an increase in the size dispersion index increases the porosity of the liner.

(73) Comparative example 7* shows that the use of a powder having a high fraction of particles having a size of less than or equal to 5 microns increases the porosity of the liner.

(74) It is now clear that the invention provides a feed powder exhibiting size and bulk density distributions which confer a very high density on the liner. In addition, this feed powder can be efficiently plasma sprayed with a good productivity.

(75) Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described and represented.