Low pressure cold spraying is an attractive technique for onsite metal coating fabrication due to its compactness and portability. However, the bonding strength of the coating prepared by low pressure cold spraying is generally low, which restricts the further applications in engineering and industrial fields. To improve the bonding strength, pre-treatment on substrate surface can be an effective procedure. In this study, a low-temperature plasma treatment was applied to a pretreatment technique, and the effect of the treatment on particle bonding was compared with that of a laser treatment. Copper coatings on aluminum and copper substrates were selected and studied as basic metal materials. The SEM observation results show that the particle adhesion rate significantly increases by the laser and plasma treatments, due to the removal of the native oxide films on the substrates. The particle bonding on the plasma-treated substrate reveals better interfacial adhesion with less gap compared with the laser-treated one. The pre-treatment by low-temperature plasma can be an attractive technique to assist the cold spraying process due to the oxide removal ability and no thermal effect which can apply a wide range of materials.

Due to the nonsymmetric distribution of the particle plume in conventional plasma spraying, significant influence of the gun scanning pattern can appear in the structure of the coatings obtained. In this study, three scanning patterns are used to deposit YSZ powder by means of air plasma spraying. Cross-sections of the coatings are examined and interfacial fracture toughness and hot corrosion tests are conducted. Improvements in coating adhesion and corrosion resistance were obtained by modifying the scanning pattern of the gun to decrease the possibility of horizontal weak bonding between spray passes.

In this work, a novel additive manufacturing process was proposed and employed in the production of stainless steel components. The underlying concept is to use selective laser melting (SLM) to fabricate a core structure onto which basic features are added by cold spraying (CS), followed by heat treatment and finish machining. The microstructure and mechanical properties of as-fabricated and heat-treated parts were studied, and interfacial bonding between the SLM core and a typical CS feature was assessed. In the as-fabricated state, it is observed that the CS material has a dendritic structure similar to the feedstock, while the SLM core is characterized by cellular subgrains confined in coarse grain structures. Following heat treatment, interparticle boundaries are less well defined, equiaxed coarse grains and twinning appear, and the extremely fine subgrains in the SLM material are enlarged. Heat treatment is also shown to improve tensile strength in the CS material and interfacial bond strength between the CS features and SLM core.

In this study, aluminum coatings were cold sprayed, with and without laser assistance, on laser-textured aluminum 6060 and Fe52 steel substrates. The results indicate that laser texturing makes for a cleaner coating interface than grit blasting and that the benefits are greatest when spraying on harder substrate materials. For the steel substrate, the optimized topography achieved through laser texturing assisted in particle deformation, leading to the formation of a much tighter coating structure. Laser-assisted cold spraying, in turn, improved deposition efficiency as well as coating density and adhesion. Separately or together, the two processes have proven to be beneficial for cold spraying.

In this work, a fine copper layer was deposited on an aluminum nitride substrate via cold spraying. Parametric modeling was used to develop a parameter selection map that helped guide preliminary experiments to validate the model for different substrate surfaces, nozzle geometries, gas dynamics, standoff distances, and deposition angles. Further modifications were then made to include failure prediction based on particle impact, leading to the deposition of well-adhered cold-sprayed copper on a ceramic surface.

In this study, hydroxyapatite, titania, and HA-TiO 2 composite layers are deposited by suspension plasma spraying on titanium substrates and assessed by means of SEM and XRD analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and acoustic emission testing. The coatings exhibited dense microstructures with low porosity and good interfacial bond strength. The main phase in the HA and composite coatings was found to be similar to the peak of the feedstock powder. In the composite and titania coatings, besides rutile and anatase, a significant percentage of thermally stable Ti 3 O 5 was observed, which is favorable for photocatalytic performance.

In this paper, the principles of computational fluid dynamics are used to simulate the complex gas flows in the cylinder bore of an automotive engine during internal-diameter twin-wire arc spraying. A number of experiments are conducted as well and the results are presented and analyzed in order to optimize the properties of the coating. The combination of simulation and experiments led to the development of a process that achieves uniform layer adhesion strength over the length of the cylinder bore.

This study assesses the durability of superhydrophobic surfaces that possess a scalable architecture similar in morphology to branching or corymbose coral. In the experiments, electrolytic copper powders with a coral-like morphology are cold sprayed onto metal, ceramic, and glass substrates, forming a textured copper layer with a structural hierarchy based on the morphology of the powder. After cold spraying, a flame treatment is applied, creating a porous layer of Cu 2 O over the pliable Cu surface, which further increases roughness. As a final step, a fluoroalkyl silane spray is applied to reduce surface energy. It is shown that the fluorinated surface retains its excellent water repellency after cyclic bending and folding, sand-grit erosion, knife-scratching, and even heavy loading with simulated acid rain. It also retains its adhesion to glass (17 MPa), ceramic (12 MPa), and metal (34 MPa) substrates.

This work investigates the fundamental mechanical properties of SPS and APS thermal barrier coatings. SPS YSZ coatings had lower Young’s modulus values and higher interfacial toughness than APS deposited layers. The low stiffness of SPS coatings limits the elastic energy that can be stored in ceramic layers. This coupled with good interfacial toughness might make SPS deposited thermal barrier coatings less prone to delamination due to thermal cycling.

In this study, cold sprayed Ni is deposited on Al substrates using different gas pressures. Spherical Ni powder was sprayed on cylindrical substrates using argon as the powder carrier and compressed air as the propellant. Coating and splat surfaces and cross-sections were examined, adhesion strength was measured, and particle velocity and temperature were determined through CFD simulations. The results show that denser, more well adhered coatings were obtained under higher propellant pressure. Higher gas pressure increases particle velocity, which intensifies material deformation and the disruption of surface oxides in the impact area, resulting in greater metallurgical bonding between the splats and the substrate. The formation of Ni-Al intermetallic phase at the interface region due to heat treatment was confirmed and its effect on bonding strength is discussed.

Interparticle bonding is considered the most important factor in cold sprayed coatings, determining mechanical properties as well as physical and chemical behaviors. In this study, a Cu feedstock with low oxygen content is deposited with relatively high spray pressure and temperature in order to improve interparticle bonding and obtain a coating cohesive strength. Mechanical bonding between deposited particles is deduced from fracture morphology and the deformation behavior of Cu particles is simulated by finite element analysis.

In this study, stainless steel splats were deposited on preheated stainless steel substrates with oxide scales of different thickness in inert low-pressure plasma spay (LPPS) conditions to examine the effect of in-situ oxidation of prior splats on the morphology and bonding of subsequently formed splats. Splat-substrate interface cross-sections were prepared by focus-ion-beam milling. Splat morphology and bonding state with the substrate were characterized by SEM. The results show that with oxide films up to 35 nm thick, disk-type splats are deposited that bond well to the substrate except in the periphery region. As oxide films become thicker (100 nm) and present a surface with micro-scale roughness, splats take on a finger-like shape with poor bonding at the interface.

This study demonstrates the use of bulge testing to evaluate fuel plates for high-performance nuclear reactors. Uranium-molybdenum alloy substrates were plasma sprayed with zirconium and clad between aluminum sheets by hot isostatic pressing. The coated-and-clad samples were cut into disks, the top cladding was thinned, and a small hole was milled through the bottom cladding. The samples were then placed in a pressure cell and a syringe pump was used to inject distilled water through the hole in the bottom Al sheet. Two cameras measured bulge height while fluid pressure was simultaneously recorded. Test results show that all failures occurred at the plasma-sprayed Zr/U-Mo interface rather than the HIP-bonded Zr/Al interface. It is also shown that the use of transferred arc (TA) cleaning prior to spraying improves both failure pressure and initiation fracture toughness, especially under high ac current. TA cleaning facilitates the formation of strong diffusion bonds by removing oxide from the substrate and increasing interface temperature.

The main objective of this study is to determine the optimum conditions for cold spraying a WC-Co nanopowder on aluminum alloy and carbon steel substrates. XRD tests were run on the powder and coatings to determine if phase changes occurred during spraying. Coating samples were evaluated via adhesion, corrosion, and wear testing. Cold spraying proved to be very competitive with conventional thermal spray techniques, producing thick, dense, hard WC-Co coatings on steel as well as aluminum with excellent tribological and electrochemical properties.

The aim of this study is to clarify the factors that control the macroscale strength of cold spray coatings by evaluating local strength at the microscale. Using pure copper powder and high-pressure cold spray equipment, thick (15 mm) copper layers were deposited on aluminum substrates. The coatings were evaluated by SEM and EBSD analysis, then freestanding Cu specimens were fabricated in a FIB system, where in-situ micro tensile tests were carried out. The results are presented and discussed along with the role of microvoids.

Previous work on thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) has shown that Ce-containing bond coats promote the formation of a wedge-like interface oxide that improves delamination resistance. The oxide was found to form at temperatures greater than 1100 °C, which in many applications, may not be reached. In this study, TBC samples consisting of a YSZ topcoat and various cold-sprayed bond coats were prepared. In order to obtain a wedge-like thermally grown oxide (TGO), pre-oxidation was carried out for 20 h at 1100 °C prior to high-temperature testing for 1000 h at 1000 °C. It was confirmed that the pre-oxidation treatment produced a wedge-like TGO that continued to grow at 1000 °C, which improved delamination resistance as four-point bend tests showed. A wedge-like oxide was also observed in some TBCs exposed to temperatures of 1000 °C, without pre-oxidation.

In the present study, spherical Ti-6Al-4V powders were cold sprayed on titanium, aluminum, and magnesium alloy substrates to investigate influences over a wide range of damping conditions and respective deceleration of impacting particles. Single impacts were produced via wipe tests and bonding was evaluated by cavitation testing followed by SEM examination of impact and fracture morphologies. The results show that better bonding is achieved for material combinations with similar properties due to high adiabatic shear instabilities that result in microfusion at the particle-substrate interface. In the case of dissimilar materials, the conditions for bonding can be reached in an intermediate stage, but bonded areas may later separate due to particle movement around the interface.

This study investigates a new evaluation method that has the potential to differentiate between particle interfaces and grain boundaries in cold spray coatings. The method uses confidence index (CI) and image quality (IQ) values obtained from EBSD analysis to determine the location of grain boundaries as well as grain orientation and crystallinity of the deposit. In the case of a cold-sprayed copper deposit, the new method helps to explain the observed characteristics of the coating.

Adhesion strength of thermally sprayed coatings is usually measured in accordance with the tensile method specified by ISO 14916. A major limitation of the method, however, is that it cannot measure adhesion strengths greater than that of the glue used to prepare the test specimen. Indentation testing, by virtue of its simplicity and practicality, is a promising alternative in such cases. Collaborative work has been conducted by members of the Japan Thermal Spray Society (JTSS) to establish a standard method for measuring coating adhesion using a conventional Vickers indenter. This paper provides an overview of the experimental and theoretical work that was done and describes the criteria proposed to quantify adhesion strength based on standardized test procedures.

In this study, finite element analysis and experimental observation are used to evaluate the effect of substrate hardness and spray angle on the deposition of cold-sprayed Ti particles. It is found, in the case of Cu substrates, that both the particle and substrate deform during impact, resulting in a large contact area. Metallurgical bonding is highly likely under such conditions, facilitating formation of thick coatings. In the case of Al substrates, although the contact area is smaller, Ti particles are trapped by the softer substrate material, resulting in mechanical interlocking and a relatively thick coating. In the case of stainless steel substrates, mechanical interlocking does not occur due to the relative hardness of the material, which limits coating thickness. The results of the study also show that decreasing the spray angle reduces interfacial contact area and coating thickness, while increasing porosity.