Abstract
In this study, 43 μm 316L stainless steel and 23 μm commercial purity Fe feedstocks were used. The following coatings were made by cold spray: single component 316L, Fe, and their binary composites with nominal compositions of 20 wt.% Fe (20Fe), 50 wt.% Fe (50Fe) and 80 wt.% Fe (80Fe). The coatings were characterized (microstructure, flattening ratio, composition) and the cold sprayability metrics (DE, porosity, coating cohesion strength) were analyzed. Results show that the single component 316L coating has a much better DE and coating cohesion strength, and a slightly lower porosity as compared with the Fe coating, whereas all the composite coatings have the similar cohesion strength. Moreover, the 20Fe coating features the highest porosity and the lowest DE; 50Fe coating features the lowest porosity; and the 80Fe coating features the highest DE. To characterize the feedstock mixture composition, in addition to the usual approach of weight or volume fraction, the ratio of the 316L and Fe particle numbers in a mixture (i.e. particle number fraction), was calculated. Using this metric, the effects of the feedstock mixing composition on the cold sprayability of bimodal size 316L/Fe powder mixtures can be better explained.