The Influence of Spray Conditions on Deposition Characteristics of Aluminum Coatings in Cold Spraying

In this study, aluminum powder is cold sprayed onto copper, Al 5052, and 304 stainless steel substrates at working gas temperatures of 200, 300, and 400 °C. In-flight particle temperatures and velocities are determined theoretically and compared with experimentally measured values. It is shown that particle velocity increases with increasing gas temperature, while critical velocity falls. At 400 °C, a deposition efficiency of more than 95% was achieved. In contrast, the bonding strength at the coating-substrate interface is influenced much more by the substrate material than gas temperature.