This paper describes the influence of post-spray heat treatment parameters on mechanical properties of Ni-TiC composite coatings. Thin Ni-TiC composite coatings were produced by low pressure cold gas dynamic process (also referred as cold spray or kinetic spray process) on an Inconel alloy substrate. In the coating process, mechanically mixed micron-sized Ni-TiC powders (~50 µm) were injected into a de-Laval nozzle propelled by a supersonic gas stream to high velocity (>300 m/s) to impinge upon a substrate. The coatings are formed subsequently as the metallic particles are severely deformed plastically and bonded to both the substrate and to one another. However the tensile adhesion strength levels were determined to be in the range of 10-14 MPa. A subsequent post-spray heat treatment in vacuum was found to enhance the bond strength of the coated particles with the substrate due to good metallurgical bonding caused by diffusion mechanism.

A new approach is explored to achieve the aluminum alloy powder layer from nanoparticle contained metallic powder mixture feedstock by Low Pressure Gas Dynamic Spray (LPGDS) or Cold Spray (LPCS). In this approach, mixtures of micron-sized aluminum powder (average size of 10 µm) and alloying nano-powder of Cu, Si and TiC (200-500 nm), at appropriate proportions to compositions of Al-5wt%Cu, Al-5wt%Cu-0.75wt%Si and Al- 5wt%Cu-5wt%TiC with polymer binder were prepared by stirring. Then, the powder mixture was compacted into pellets, dryed, and further milled to obtain the particle agglomerates (average size of 50 µm) . The powder feedstock were sprayed by LPCS. In this paper, we investigate the spraying behavior Al-based nanoparticle contained powder mixtures the microstructural development and mechanical properties of deposited layers using a microindentation, scanning probe microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis.

The present study was carried out to evaluate the applicability of the Gas Dynamic Spraying (GDS) of different powder compositions for depositing wear-resistant composite coatings on iron and steel castings. This process, simply known as “cold spray,” utilizes the kinetic energy of particles sprayed at supersonic velocities to produce a bonding of the particles to the substrate. Ni and Cu based coatings containing W, Zn and TiC as reinforcement were made by the low pressure GDS technique and investigated. The coatings microstructures were studied by both optical and scanning electron microscopy. Phase composition, hardness and wear resistance of the GDS coatings were analyzed. The ball-on-disc sliding wear test was used for assessing the wear resistance characteristics of the coatings using a ceramic (Si 3 N 4 ) ball. W and TiC reinforced coatings showed the best wear performance. These were further evaluated in greater detail. In addition to the obtained test results, the application prospects for such GDS coatings were discussed.