Book excerpt: Over the past two decades, thermal spraying of metallic, ceramic and composite coatings has emerged as a powerful tool for surface engineering, with many new applications and markets continually being developed. This book will help materials scientists and engineers to choose the most appropriate combination of materials, equipment, and operation parameters for the design of high-performance coatings with new functional properties and improved service life. Includes: * a thorough treatment of the fundamental physical processes governing plasma spray technology; * a critical assessment of advantages and disadvantages of the method compared with other suface coating techniques; * a discussion of basic equipment requirements and limitations; * case studies and typical applications to solve industrial problems. Plasma-Spray Coating offers a stimulating combination of basic concepts and practical applications. Materials scientists and engineers, as well as graduate students will find this book of enormous value.