International Thermal Spray Conference and Exposition (ITSC 2028)

The meeting focuses on thermal spray applications in aerospace, coating technologies, materials performance, sustainability initiatives, powder recovery, and advances in coating applications. The program addresses tungsten and yttrium supply challenges, including the effects of export controls, geopolitical tensions, and concentrated supply. It also covers domestic supply-chain development and technologies that reduce or eliminate reliance on those materials. Technical presentations address thermal spray industry innovations, corrosion-resistant coatings for oil refineries, cold-spray repair for aerospace and defense, coating characterization, gas-turbine component repair, and pre-alloyed carbide alternatives. A panel considers future thermal-spray materials and processes.

Technical programming covers aerospace materials and applications, including additive manufacturing; advanced forming and thermomechanical processing; aerospace coatings; AI and integrated computational materials engineering; composite materials and structures; emerging materials and processes; extreme-environment and gas-turbine materials; light alloy technology; low-cost manufacturing and affordable structures; materials characterization and failure analysis; modeling and simulation of manufacturing processes; multifunctional materials; residual stress for aerospace components; space and cryogenic applications; sustainable and enabling materials and processes; titanium alloys and manufacturing technologies; tribology and wear of aerospace materials; and welding and joining. The conference also includes keynote presentations, panel discussions, an exposition, and professional development opportunities. The detailed schedule and keynote lineup have not yet been published.

The technical program is planned to include keynote presentations, technical sessions, panel discussions, special-topic sessions, and hands-on workshops. Topics include heat-treating technologies, process control, materials performance, emerging innovations, applied research, case studies, process improvements, and practical solutions to manufacturing and operational challenges. Heat Treat is co-located with IMAT, the Residual Stress Technology Conference (RSTC), and the North American Cold Spray Conference (NACSC).

The event brings together the ACerS Annual Meeting, AIST Steel Properties & Applications, the TMS Fall Meeting, and the Advanced Materials Show. Planned technical symposia cover additive manufacturing, including modeling, AI and machine learning, process control, ceramic 3D printing, and qualification and certification of computational materials tools. Other materials topics include ceramics, glass, electronic and nanostructured materials, advanced alloys, and high-temperature phase transformations. Steel and ferrous-metallurgy programming addresses alloy design, steel processing and coatings, medium- and high-manganese steels, decarbonization, scrap recyclability, and materials for transportation, defense, energy, hydrogen, carbon capture, geothermal, and nuclear applications. Energy-focused symposia cover clean hydrogen, electrochemical storage and conversion, thermal management, and alternative-energy devices, including solid-state batteries, electrolyzers, fuel cells, and thermoelectric systems. Additional planned topics include corrosion and degradation in extreme environments, nuclear materials and waste-storage forms, and materials for advanced manufacturing. The co-located Advanced Materials Show focuses on high-performing materials technology and the materials manufacturing supply chain.

The technical program covers mechanical behavior, reliability, failure analysis, and performance of advanced ceramics and composites; structural, environmental, and functional ceramic coatings; solid oxide cells; thermoelectric and thermionic energy conversion and thermal management; bioceramics; rechargeable energy storage; functional nanomaterials and thin films; advanced processing and manufacturing; porous ceramics; computational and data-driven materials design; production technologies; layered carbides, nitrides, and borides; nuclear fission and fusion materials; crystalline materials; additive manufacturing and 3D printing; geopolymers and sustainable construction materials; photonics and energy; ultrahigh-temperature ceramics; and molecular-level processing of functional materials. Focused themes include bioinspiration and green manufacturing; ceramic materials and integrated approaches for industrial decarbonization; smart powder processing of multifunctional ceramics and catalyst materials; ceramic/carbon-reinforced polymers; sustainable design and manufacturing of advanced ceramics for space applications; and critical-materials recovery and reuse. The program also includes a sustainability forum and a focused session on entrepreneurship and commercialization. The expo and poster program features ceramic and glass industry products, materials, processing and characterization tools, and scientific posters.

The technology conference covers ironmaking, steelmaking, finishing processes, and engineering and equipment technologies. Program topics include safety and health; environmental technology; cokemaking; ironmaking and direct reduced iron; electric and oxygen steelmaking; specialty alloys and foundry operations; secondary refining and continuous casting; hot and cold rolling, galvanizing, tinplate, plate and long products; pipe and tube; metallurgy; energy and utilities; electrical and digitalization applications; project and construction management; maintenance and reliability; refractory systems; material handling; cranes; and transportation and logistics. Technical topics include hydrogen-based ironmaking, scrap optimization, energy efficiency, greenhouse-gas reduction, carbon capture and storage, water treatment and reuse, AI and digitalization, predictive maintenance, industrial control-system cybersecurity, steel product quality, and process reliability. The schedule lists technical sessions, the Howe Memorial Lecture, an undergraduate student project presentation contest, a graduate student poster contest display, a Steel to Students roundtable, Technology Committee meetings, and a Town Hall Forum. The event also includes an iron and steel exposition.

The technical program covers conventional and emerging power systems, including steam power systems (HRSGs, boilers, and steam turbines), gas turbines, concentrating solar power, geothermal energy, small modular reactors and advanced nuclear technologies, sCO₂ power cycles, advanced ultra-supercritical steam, and hydrogen and bulk thermal energy storage technologies. Topics include additive manufacturing, powder metallurgy hot isostatic pressing, advanced welding, cladding, fabrication processes, design approaches, material and welding qualification, standards development, and regulatory challenges. Component-specific issues include castings, forgings, blades, rotors, and valves. Materials and performance topics include creep, creep-fatigue, stress relaxation cracking, oxidation, corrosion, wear, erosion, high-temperature alloys and steels, failure analysis, life management, and fitness-for-service methodologies. Repair topics include weld repair, rejuvenation heat treatment, surface engineering, and refurbishment solutions. The conference program includes plenary sessions and breakout topical tracks. Accepted papers undergo peer review and are assigned DOIs. EPRI and ASM International jointly organize the conference.

Technical programming includes presentations, panels, tutorials, and discussions in materials and process engineering. The exhibition features materials, equipment, processes, and solutions from companies across the supply chain. Themes span advanced materials and processes applied in aerospace, defense, transportation, energy, manufacturing, and other industries, connecting technical knowledge with real-world applications. Technical papers selected for the conference program undergo review by subject-matter experts and must include tests, analysis, and results. The program also includes ITAR-restricted technical presentations on defense-related materials and manufacturing; participation in those sessions requires applicable clearance.

The technical symposia span ceramic and glass science, engineering, processing, and applications. Topics include ceramic interfaces and grain boundaries; oxide quantum materials; superconductivity, magnetism, and correlated phases; functional ceramics; extreme-environment and microelectronics materials; two-dimensional materials; high-entropy materials; bioceramics; glass surfaces and the glassy state; and computational modeling, data science, and AI/ML for materials discovery and manufacturing. Energy-related subjects include materials for energy storage and conversion, nuclear energy applications, protonic ceramic cells, and materials for a sustainable and resilient energy future. Manufacturing topics include advanced ceramic processing, additive manufacturing, glass manufacturing scale-up, and intelligent manufacturing. The additive-manufacturing symposium covers feedstock design, printing and post-processing, modeling, characterization, process-structure-property relationships, qualification, certification, scale-up, cost, reliability, and industrial implementation. The raw-materials symposium addresses material quality and variability, alternative and recycled feedstocks, sustainable sourcing, circularity, supply-chain resilience, resource security, and decarbonization.