Plasma spray of free-standing components for bone tissue engineering

This research work deals with the development of free-standing hydroxyapatite (HA) components produced using the Atmospheric Plasma Spraying Process. The spray parameters were based on the optimal values found in previous work for the HA powder used. The deposition time used to produce the free-standing coupons was varied between 70 and 150 seconds. The influence of spray time on the deposit thickness and the resulting crystallinity of the coupons were investigated. The surface of the samples was characterised by means of SEM and surface roughness was measured using a laser profiler. The crystallinity of the samples was analysed using XRD. The phase content of the coupons was investigated using XRD and Raman Spectroscopy. The crystallinity and thickness of the coupons was found to increase with increasing spray time. A maximum crystallinity of 89% and maximum average thickness of 2.45 mm were obtained.