Publisher's Synopsis
The International Thermal Spray Conference is the largest international gathering of this type dedicated to the science and technology of thermal spray. It brings together researchers, engineers, technicians, equipment and powder manufacturers, coating applicators, and end-users from around the world at an annual meeting in cities in Asia, the United States and Europe.The event is organized jointly by the ASM Thermal Spray Society (TSS), the German Welding Society (DVS), and the International Institute of Welding (IIW). The conference serves as a forum for exchanging ideas, discussing challenges, identifying solutions, exhibiting the latest technology and newest equipment, and presenting cutting-edge research. It enables cloe interaction among the important players in this field and provides an occasion for identifying research and business opportunities and for establishing collaborations and partnerships. By keeping abreast of the papers presented at this event, it is possible to identify trends and have current information on the latest developments in the thermal spray field.
This special issue of Journal of Thermal Spray Technology (JTST) features a selection of papers presented at the International Thermal Spray Conference 2007 (ITSC 2007) held in Beijing, China, 14-16 May 2007. The theme of the conference focused on global coating solutions, a reference to both the broad range of applications where thermal spray coatings are being employed to improve performance and the international scope of activity in the thermal spray field.
There are more than 50 articles in this volume drawn from the more than 200 papers in the Proceedings of ITSC 2007 published in CD-ROM format. Authors of the selected articles were invited to submit their papers to JTST where they passed through the full peer review process required for publishing refereed papers. These papers represent a cross section of the full spectrum of subjects coverd at that conference and highlight recent advances in the thermal spray field. We hope the readers find this expanded JTST issue to be a valuable reference source.
