Nanostructured Aluminum Coatings Produced Using Cold Spraying Technology

A mathematical model was developed and used to design and optimize a supersonic nozzle for a cold spray system. The objective was to spray 20 micron-size aluminum particles. Conventional and agglomerated nanostructured powders were used and successfully sprayed using a radial injection port. The microstructure of the coatings revealed that the nanocrystalline structure is preserved. An increase of 100% of the coating hardness was found for nanostructured coatings compared to conventional coatings. Further work needs to be done to improve the porosity of the coatings by changing some of the process parameter.