Properties of Cold Spray Nickel Based Coatings

Nickel based alloys used in coating applications have been the focus of many studies, particularly in the aerospace industry. Their inherent corrosion and oxidation resistant properties have made them especially attractive for use as the metallic bond coat found in thermal barrier coating systems. Cold Spray is an emerging coating technology in which fine powder particles are accelerated in a supersonic flow and then deposited onto a substrate by means of plastic deformation. In this study, conventional CoNiCrAlY coatings and nanocrystalline nickel coatings are produced using the Cold Spray deposition technique. The coating quality is evaluated using scanning electron microscopy as well as porosity and microhardness measurements.