The Ti-6Al-4V alloy is widely used in aerospace applications for its excellent mechanical properties, however, it presents low wear resistance. It is often coated with a cermet using high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spraying to improve its wear performance. The Cr3C2-NiCr cermet becomes particularly interesting since it is non-carcinogenic, compared to traditional cermet coatings containing tungsten-cobalt compounds. While the improvement in wear resistance of Ti-6Al-4V with this coating has been demonstrated, its impact on the fatigue performance of the alloy remains to be studied. This is precisely the aim of this study, which focuses on the fatigue life of a Cr3C2-25NiCr-coated Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Among the various influencing factors, surface preparation represents a significant source of crack initiation, particularly in the case of sandblasted surfaces. Indeed, the inclusion of fragmented alumina particles can produce stress concentration zones. Thus, laser texturing, which is a method involving the creation of anchoring points through controlled ablation, can be considered today as a less harmful surface preparation technique. The results obtained from cyclic tensile fatigue tests with a stress ratio of 0.1 for these two surface preparation methods are presented in this paper.

High-velocity air-fuel (HVAF) is a combustion process that allows solid-state deposition of metallic particles with minimum oxidation and decomposition. Although HVAF and cold spray are similar in terms of solid-state particle deposition, slightly higher temperature of HVAF may allow further particle softening and in turn more particle deformation upon impact. The present study aims to produce dense Ti-6Al-4V coatings by utilizing an inner-diameter (ID) HVAF gun. The ID gun is considered a scaled-down version of the standard HVAF with a narrower jet, beneficial for near-net-shape manufacturing. To explore the potential of the ID gun in the solid-state deposition process, an investigation was made into the effect of spraying parameters (i.e., spraying distance, fuel pressure, and nozzle length) on the characteristics of in-flight particles and the attributes of the as-fabricated coating such as porosity, oxygen content, and hardness. Using online diagnostics to monitor temperature and velocity of in-flight Ti-6Al-4V particles is challenging due to exothermic oxidation reaction of fine particles, while larger particles are too cold to be detected from their thermal emission. However, DPV diagnostic system was successfully employed to differentiate the non-emitting solid particles from the burning ones. It was found that increasing air and fuel pressure of the ID-HVAF jet led to an increase of the velocity of the in-flight particles, and resulted in improved density and hardness of the as-sprayed samples. However, increasing the spraying distance had a negative effect on the density and hardness of the deposits. It was also observed that the phases of the Ti-6Al-4V deposits were altered by producing vanadium oxide due to the high temperature of the spray jet.

The exceptional properties of Ti-6Al-4V of high strength, lightweight, corrosion resistance and machinability make it one of the most widely used alloys in in the aerospace industry. Significant efforts are underway to establish powder bed additive manufacturing (AM) technologies for Ti-6Al-4V. There are also increasing attempts to use thermal and cold spray to build near net shape parts with buildup rates orders of magnitude higher than powder bed. Thermal spraying, such as HVOF, can oxidize and degrade the alloy due to the high processing temperature. Lowering the flame temperature through inert gas addition in full-size HVOF systems is a possible approach to retain solid state deposition of the feedstock particles, thereby limiting oxidation and detrimental α-case formation, while providing sufficient heat input for particle softening and plastic deformation at impact. Novel miniaturized HVOF systems, with spray jets of only a few millimetre in width, may further offer the possibility to improve the spatial resolution of the buildup for near net shape forming. The process parameter range for solid state deposition of Ti-6A-4V, using the liquid fuelled TAFA Model 825 JPid and the novel hydrogen fuelled Spraywerx ID-NOVA MK-6 with the addition of nitrogen will be discussed. Build-ups at over 80% deposition efficiency generally yield as-sprayed porosities below 3% and hardness above 200 HV100gf. Attainable microstructures and oxygen content as a function of spray parameters are delineated. Recrystallization and beta annealing of selected samples lowered the residual porosity and created equiaxed α and intergranular ß-phases. Ultimate tensile strengths of up to 1100 MPa were attained, however, at limited elongation.

The aim of this work is to study the effects of the titanium plasma spray (TPS) coating process on the fatigue resistance of a titanium-6Al-4V substrate. The combination of TPS processes and Ti alloy substrate is widely applied on components intended for cementless total hip replacement (THR). In order to understand the coating process mechanism behind the implants’ fatigue resistance decrease, one air-developed coating (Ti-APS) and one controlled atmosphere developed coating (Ti-CAPS) were considered. The effects of the most representative parameters of the plasma spray process on the fatigue resistance were analysed: the sandblasting process, the plasma and the coating powder. Fatigue resistance studies were performed by means of rotating bending fatigue testing. After fatigue failure specimens underwent morphological analyses both on the primary crack surface and on the cross-sectional area complemented by of the metallographic analyses of the coating. The titanium substrate fatigue resistance decreased after being blasted with direct relationship with the grain size. Ti-CAPS process showed a relatively limited further influence on the fatigue resistance reduction with respect to only sandblasted samples. By contrary a remarkable fatigue limit decreased was seen for Ti-APS coated samples against Ti-CAPS and simply sandblasted samples. The experiment pointed out the critical importance of cracks oxidation as a fatigue failure driving factor.

Anisotropy of stress-strain behavior, fracture toughness, and fatigue crack growth rate of Ti6Al4V deposited by cold spray using nitrogen was studied. For that, flat deposits were tested with stress acting in the in-plane directions and tubular deposits were tested in the out-of-plane stress directions. In all tests, unified small-size specimens were used. It was shown that for the in-plane stress, the deposits can be considered isotropic, whereas the out-of-plane stress led to significantly lower values of the measured properties. The obtained results were related to fractography and microstructural analysis. While a combination of trans-particle and inter-particle fracture determined the fatigue properties in the near-threshold regime, at higher loads, inter-particle fracture was dominant. It was also shown that the different particle-to-stress orientations influenced the resulting fatigue and static properties.

This present work investigates the effect of electromagnetic fields on cold spray processes by means of an induction-heating cold spray (IHCS) system. Aluminum powder was cold sprayed onto inductively heated Ti6Al-4V (Ti64) substrates. These materials were selected to minimize the mechanical contribution to coating adhesion. As a result, changes in coating adhesion strength can be attributed to improved metallic bond formation due to the effect of the electromagnetic field. Four different initial substrate surface temperatures were used in the study to assess the role of initial temperature as well. Deposition efficiency and adhesion and tensile strength measurements were recorded and are used to characterize the hybrid coating process and compare it with traditional techniques.

This study investigates the effect of composition on the antibacterial and antiviral properties of hydroxyapatite/titania composite coatings deposited by suspension plasma spraying. Hydroxyapatite is a bioceramic material used as a plasma-sprayed coating to promote osseointegration of femoral stems. TiO2 has promising photocatalytic activity and good efficiency in destroying bacteria, viral species, and parasites. Prior to coating, substrates were grit blasted, ultrasonically cleaned, and heated to enhance adhesion strength. The microstructure of the resulting coatings was then characterized using XRD and Raman spectroscopy. Test results indicated that SPS transformed Ti2O3 into TiO2 with mixed phases. Ti4O7 and Ti3O5 phases were also identified, which show photocatalytic activity due to oxygen vacancies. Antibacterial and antiviral tests were conducted as well.

Tensile and shear adhesion strength tests were carried out to evaluate interfacial strength between hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings and titanium alloy substrates that that had been anodized or pre or post heat treated. Tensile and shear adhesion strength were both found to be influenced by pre and post heat treating, but not by anodization. The findings suggest that it is possible to estimate tensile adhesion strength from shear adhesion test results and that the interfacial strength of coatings must be measured directly, without using an adhesive.

Metallic implants for orthopedic or dental use are often coated with a plasma-sprayed hydroxyapatite (HA) layer. In this study, HA coatings are applied to titanium substrates of varying thickness and laser shock adhesion tests are performed using different laser spot diameters. The objective is to investigate the effect of different shockwave regimes on interfacial debonding and the potential consequences of laser shock adhesion testing. HA coatings exhibiting different levels of adhesion were subjected to laser shock experiments and subsequently examined using nondestructive inspection techniques. The results are presented along with suggestions for developing a robust laser shock adhesion test.

In this study, Ti-6Al-4V coatings were deposited by low-pressure plasma spraying (LPPS) using different powder sizes and spray currents. The coatings were also heat treated at different temperatures, after which their microstructure and properties were assessed. The results show that finer powders are more conducive to the preparation of dense coatings and that porosity is reduced by increasing plasma current. As for the effects of heat treating temperature, at 870 °C, the lamellar structure of the coating disappeared and was found to be fully equiaxed with a grain size of 5-10 µm at 1100 °C. Hardness also increased, becoming significantly higher than that of forged TC4 alloy following treatment at 1100 °C.

In this work, hot isostatic pressing (HIP) is used to reduce interior defects, adjust the microstructure, and improve the tensile properties of cold-sprayed Ti6Al4V. Optical microscope and X-ray tomography were used to characterize pore morphologies and porosity evolution. XCT reconstructions show that fully dense Ti6Al4V alloy with an equiaxed microstructure were achieved. Tensile testing shows that strength and ductility were improved as well because of enhanced diffusion and resultant metallurgical bonding.

Different Ti-6Al-4V feedstock powders (i.e., plasma atomized, gas atomized and hydride de-hydride) and corresponding cold spray depositions were characterized using electron back scatter diffraction and X ray diffraction. In addition, a low temperature heat treatment was applied to the coatings and characterized using the above techniques to understand the microstructural evolution after annealing. XRD did not show BCC phase in the three powders and coatings. The axial ratio for all the powders and coatings were similar to what has been reported for Ti-6Al-4V. Atomized powders and hydride dehydride (HDH) powders were characterized by α' microstructure, and equiaxed α phase microstructure, respectively. Phase maps for HDH powders revealed β phase microstructure distributed around equiaxed α grains. Microstructural evolution during cold spray deposition resulted in the atomized coatings retaining as-received powder microstructure at particle interiors and formation of nanograins near the interface. On the other hand, HDH coatings were characterized by slightly deformed as-received powder microstructure with no evidence for nanograin formation. Higher average grain size of HDH powders resulted in the higher percentage of low angle grain boundaries observed after cold spray deposition. Subsequent heat treatment resulted in recovery, some recrystallization and grain growth for all the coatings. Nonetheless, the extent to which this took place was higher for atomized cold sprayed coatings.

Phase composition and microstructure of hydroxyapatite (HA) significantly affects the biological and mechanical properties of final hydroxyapatite (HA) coating. In the present study, HA coatings were deposited on Ti-6Al-4V by micro-plasma spraying (MPS) using different spray parameters. The influence of spray parameters on the composition and microstructure of the coatings were investigated. To understand the formation mechanism of HA coatings, the in-flight particles and splats were examined as well. The morphologies of coatings surface, cross-sections, initial powder, in-flight particles and splats were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Xray diffraction (XRD) was employed to analyze the phase composition. Three typical HA coatings were fabricated. The results indicated that the coating composition and microstructure were tightly related to the melting state of inflight particles. And this was influenced by the spraying parameters. The formation mechanisms of these coatings were discussed.

The Ti 2 AlNb blade is used in high pressure compressor aero-engines to provide high thrust force at relatively light weight. A series of abradability tests was carried out on CuAlNi-graphite, NiCrAl-graphite, NiCrAl-bentonite, and NiCrFeAl-hBN abradable coatings rubbed against Ti 2 AlNb dummy blades with the maximum blade-tip velocity of 300 m/s at 500 °C. In consideration of the effects of an engine’s working conditions, some tests were conducted with incursion rate as the single variable. The scratched surfaces of the samples were observed by the stereoscopic optical camera, and a ratio of the blade wear to shroud incursion depth (IDR) was evaluated to characterize the abradability of coatings. The results show that NiCrAl-graphite and NiCrFeAl-hBN abradable coatings perform very well rubbed against the Ti 2 AlNb blade, and the blade-tip wear is not obvious after abradability tests.

TiAl 3 -Al composite coatings are believed to hold promise for extending the service temperature range of titanium alloys used as structural materials. In this study, 0.6 x 40 mm Ti-6Al-4V specimens are coated with a 30 μm thick layer of TiAl 3 -Al by low-temperature HVOF spraying. Cross-sectional imaging shows that the as-sprayed coatings have a dense laminar microstructure and are well bonded to the substrate. Following the initial examination, the coating samples were placed in a muffle furnace, where they were held at 700 °C for up to 1000 h. Mass gain was detected starting at 200 h and remained nearly constant for the remainder of the test. This is an indication of excellent corrosion resistance, which is verified by SEM cross-sectioning and elemental EDS analysis. A brief explanation of the protective mechanism of the coating is provided.

In the present study, a new multi-chamber detonation sprayer (MCDS) was used to deposit Al 2 O 3 coatings on titanium and carbo steel substrates. SEM, TEM, and XRD analysis of the layer between the coating and substrate revealed the presence of an intermetallic compound that improves coating properties and is conducive to the relaxation of stresses generated during spraying.

This work investigates the biofunctionality and corrosion resistance of titanium (Ti) and Ti/bioglass composite coatings. Commercially pure Ti (CP-Ti) and 45S5 bioglass powders were deposited on CP-Ti plates by air plasma spraying and the coating samples were placed in Hanks’ balanced salt solution for simulated body fluid (SBF) testing. After four weeks of immersion, the coatings were examined by SEM imaging and EDS and XRD analysis. EDS analysis showed that the Ca content on the Ti/bioglass coatings increased from 4 to 16 wt%, while no increase in Ca was observed on the Ti coatings. Hydroxyapatite formation was found on both coatings, although the relative intensity of HA on the XRD spectrum was higher for the Ti/bioglass composite layers. Weight measurements before and after immersion showed that the CP-Ti samples experienced a mass gain and that the Ti/bioglass samples underwent a mass loss likely due to the dissolution of calcium and phosphate.

In this work, two agglomerated hydroxyapatite (HA) powders, with and without heat treatment, were cold sprayed using various spraying parameters on metallic (Ti-6Al-4V) and polymeric (PVA) substrates. The structure of the agglomerated powders and corresponding features of the coatings were examined. For both types of substrates, it was shown that submicron HA powders produce homogenous layers with submicron HA grains. In the case of non-heat treated particles, thick layers could be obtained due to the binding action of residual by-products. HA layers were also found to be adherent after immersion in water, which could potentially lead to the fabrication of ceramic coated hydrogels.

In this work, fully dense titanium parts are fabricated by cold gas dynamic spraying (CGDS). Titanium powder is deposited using a low-pressure CGDS process with nitrogen as the carrier gas. The density, porosity, hardness, and tensile properties of the parts produced are determined and discussed.

In this paper, it is shown that mixing metal powders can lead to improvements in cold sprayability (i.e. increases in the deposition efficiency and decreases in the porosity) of the ‘matrix’ powder. This finding is illustrated with the following ‘binary’ mixtures: Ti – 6Al-4 V and commercial purity Ti; stainless steel and iron; spherical tantalum with irregular tantalum and two types of spherical tantalum with different characteristics. It is shown that a critical addition can significantly influence cold sprayability, but above this, there is little change in cold sprayability. Hardness differences are considered to be the first order influence, but differences in particle sizes and morphology may also be contributing factors.