This paper presents a study on Cu-Ag-Zn abradable seal coatings prepared by cold spraying. The micro-morphologies of the coatings were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy and electron dispersion scanning. The hardness of the coatings was analyzed. Thermal shock tests were conducted to evaluate the combination strength between the coating and the substrate. The friction and wear properties of the coatings were also tested. Two methods, annealing the coatings in vacuum and heating the feed powders in cold spraying, were tried to improve the combination strength and quality of the coating. The results showed that Cu-Ag-Zn coatings made by cold spraying with powder heating exhibited better combination strength and anti-friction properties compared to coatings annealed in vacuum and the original samples. The paper also proposed a combination mechanism for the Cu-Ag-Zn coatings.

Cold spray is a promising potential material deposition process of which the main advantage is that the material to be sprayed is not heated to high temperatures. But one problem encountered is that the coatings for some powders are not well bonded to the substrate. The mechanisms of bonding of cold-sprayed coating to substrates are not at present clearly understood. This work considers the deposition of aluminum bronze by cold spray process onto stainless steel. The micro diffusion along the interface between the substrate and coating as well as the beta-phase depletion of the cold-sprayed coating is observed. Results obtained are important not only for understanding the interaction of the particles with the substrate but also for optimizing the spray parameters for the cold spray process.