Some Material Characteristics of Cold-Sprayed Structures

Abstract

The deposition and consolidation of metal powders by means of cold spray are methods whereby powder particles are accelerated to high velocity through entrainment in a gas undergoing expansion in a rocket nozzle and are subsequently impacted upon a surface. The impacted powder particles form a consolidated structure which can be several centimeters thick. The characteristics of this structure depend on the initial characteristics of the metal powder and upon impact velocity. The influence of impact velocity on strain hardening and porosity are examined. A materials model is proposed for these phenomena, and model calculation is compared with experiment for the cold spraying of aluminum.