Patent ID: 8153204

Claim:
A method of imparting at least one functional characteristic to a portion of an engine, said method comprising: providing at least a portion of an engine comprising a surface; providing different particle feedstocks, with at least one of the particle feedstocks comprising particles that are different from another of the particle feedstocks; and depositing particles from each of the different particle feedstocks so as to form a high temperature resistant coating on at least part of the surface of the engine portion, with the high temperature resistant coating having a thickness and a surface area, the high temperature resistant coating comprising (a) a plurality of particles that are partially bonded together and (b) corresponding particle interfaces; wherein: depositing particles from each of the different particle feedstocks comprises depositing the particles, each of the different particle feedstocks being used as a source of particle material during the depositing, and-at least one functional characteristic corresponds to using the different particle feedstocks during the depositing; the different particle feedstocks used during the depositing results in the coating having a change in the particle interfaces through the thickness of the coating, across the surface area of the coating or both; the coating exhibits a corresponding change in the ability of the coating to impart at least one functional characteristic to the engine portion through the thickness of the coating; and the change in the particle interfaces of the coating includes a graded pore structure through the thickness of the coating.