Abstract
Cold spraying is particularly suitable for elaborating heat and oxidation sensitive coatings. Due to the fact that the particles are not melted during the spraying process, it is thus possible to elaborate coatings without chemical modifications. Nevertheless, according to the materials considered, some interface defects can be detected inducing an inadequate adhesion between the substrate and the coating. Bonding mechanisms are not only strongly dependent on the particle velocity but also on the state of the surfaces. By this way, surface pre-treatments can be necessary to improve adhesion. From all the surface modification technologies, laser ablation process is very interesting due to its flexibility by using optical fibers and due to the perfect control over the treated area. It is then possible to interact with the material during all the spraying process on the substrate surface as well as on the interface layers. This is particularly the aim of this study which consists in exploring the laser influence, implementing the PROTAL process, on the different interfaces quality for coatings elaborated by cold spray on metallic substrates. By controlling the chemical composition of the materials, the coating cohesion as well as the adhesion level, coatings were sprayed on pure titanium and titanium and nickel based alloy substrates.
