Impact of high velocity cold spray particles

This article presents experimental data and a computational model of the cold spray solid particle impact process. Copper particles impacting onto a polished stainless steel substrate were examined in this study. The high velocity impact causes significant plastic deformation of both the particle and the substrate, but no melting was observed. The plastic deformation exposes clean surfaces that, under the high impact pressures, result in significant bond strengths between the particle and substrate. Experimental measurements of the splat and crater sizes compare well with the numerical calculations. It was shown that the crater depth is significant and increases with impact velocity. However, the splat diameter is much less sensitive to the impact velocity. It was also shown that the geometric lengths of the splat and crater scale linearly with the diameter of the impacting particle. The results presented will allow a better understanding of the bonding process during cold spray.     

冷喷涂金属颗粒变形行为数值模拟研究进展

理解冷喷涂中的颗粒变形和沉积行为一直是科学工作的焦点。由于颗粒撞击基底后的瞬时变形行为难以通过实验观测,因此多数研究工作聚焦于数值模拟。总结了一些颗粒撞击基底的建模方法,在前人研究的基础上,针对每个模型的原理及优缺点,分析了每个方法的适用场景,给出了改善模型的方法。综述了颗粒特性、入射角度、气体预热温度等对颗粒变形行为的影响,其中粒径大小、颗粒形状等是影响颗粒变形行为的主导因素,因此重点探讨了颗粒特性的影响。颗粒的撞击变形是影响冷喷涂涂层残余应力分布的重要因素,对涂层残余应力的相关数值模拟研究进行了综述,分析了颗粒变形与颗粒残余应力的关系。最后就目前冷喷涂残余应力建模较单一的形势,探讨了如何建立一种新模型以分析涂层残余应力。     

Numerical Simulations of the High-Velocity Impact of a Single Polymer Particle During Cold-Spray Deposition

In this paper, deposition of polymer powders was studied numerically for the cold-spray deposition technique. In cold spray, a solid particle is impacted on a substrate at high velocity. The deformation and heating upon impact have been shown to be enough to result in particle deposition and adhesion even without melting the particle. Here, a systematic analysis of a single high-density polyethylene particle impacting a semi-infinite high-density polyethylene substrate was carried out for initial velocities ranging between 150 and 250 m/s using the finite element analysis software ABAQUS Explicit. A series of numerical simulations were performed to study the effect of a number of key parameters on the particle impact dynamics. These key parameters include particle impact velocity, particle temperature, particle diameter, composition of the polyethylene particle, surface composition and the thickness of a polyethylene film on a hard metal substrate. The effect of these parameter variations on the particle impact dynamics were quantified by tracking the particle temperature, deformation, plastic strain and rebound kinetic energy. The trends observed through variation of these parameters provided physical insight into the experimentally observed window of deposition where cold-sprayed particles are mostly likely to adhere to a substrate.     

冷喷涂Cu粒子参量对其碰撞变形行为的影响

采用有限元数值计算方法研究了冷喷涂过程中Cu粒子与Cu基体的碰撞变形行为,探讨了粒子速度、温度对其碰撞基体后的变形行为、界面温度变化与粒子和基体的接触面积的影响．结果表明,随粒子碰撞速度的增加,粒子扁平率与碰撞界面温度增加、接触面积增大．证实了存在使碰撞界面发生绝热剪切失稳变形的临界速度,该速度与粒子沉积的临界速度一致．当粒子速度大于产生绝热剪切失稳变形的临界速度时,粒子的变形扁平率显著增加,且界面温度与有效接触界面面积也显著增加;随碰撞前粒子温度的增加,碰撞界面的温度也显著增加．高达粒子材料熔点的界面温度与有效接触面积的显著增加,将有助于粒子与基体之间冶金结合的形成．     

Numerical Analysis of Cold Spray Particles Impacting Behavior by the Eulerian Method: A Review

Numerical simulations have been widely used to study particles impacting behavior in cold spraying. Among the used simulation methods, the Eulerian frame becomes increasingly attractive for its absence of mesh distortion which happens in the Lagrangian frame. It has been proved that particle deformation behaviors upon impacting calculated by the Eulerian method are well comparable to the experimental observations. In this review article, the literature on modeling particle impacting by the Eulerian method was summarized. In the second part, the Eulerian method was detailedly introduced. In the third part, the particle/substrate impacting behavior, and its influencing factors, i.e., mesh resolution, particle impacting velocity, preheating (particle or/and substrate) and oxide film, were summarized. Additionally, the prediction of critical velocity and residual stresses by using the Eulerian method was also discussed in detail. Finally, the current issues, problems and prospects existing in the Eulerian simulations of particle impacting were explored.     

超音速火焰喷涂镍基涂层颗粒沉积特性的数值模拟

目的 考虑后续不同粒径颗粒随机冲击的影响,探索热喷涂涂层颗粒的沉积特性。方法 利用ABAQUS建立颗粒与基底冲击模型,通过颗粒冲击的凹坑深度和应力分布进行网格收敛性研究。通过实验验证模型的可行性。随后,应用验证模型研究颗粒以不同入射角和速度冲击基底时的沉积特性,以及4个颗粒重叠冲击基底及多颗粒随机冲击基底表面时的沉积特性。结果 在颗粒入射角从15°增至60°时,颗粒更好地附着于基底表面;当颗粒速度从350 m/s增至500 m/s时发生了溅射现象,可能造成绝热剪切失稳现象,形成有效结合;在4个颗粒冲击基底时,第2个颗粒对第1个颗粒及基底的影响都最明显;当多颗粒随机冲击基底时,在后续颗粒的冲击和沉积作用下,填充颗粒的形状不规则,同时第1层颗粒可能与基底形成机械咬合。结论 在超音速火焰喷涂时应当倾斜一定角度,同时提升颗粒速度,这对制备涂层更有利;在颗粒重叠冲击时,后续颗粒增大了第1个颗粒的压缩效果,且更深入地嵌入不锈钢基底,这有利于颗粒与颗粒之间的后续黏结;当多颗粒随机冲击基底时,在第1层沉积颗粒与基底之间,以及涂层内相邻颗粒之间均观察到高塑性应变,表明涂层出现黏结,同时后期沉积的颗粒未完整压缩变形。     

Effect of Mesh Resolution on the Particle Deformation during Cold Spraying by Eulerian Formulation

Numerical simulations focusing on the impacting behavior of cold sprayed particles were usually conducted by the Lagrangian formulation.However,the calculated outputs were much dependent on the meshing size owing to the excessive element distortion.Therefore,the Eulerian formulation becomes attractive,because it can avoid the extreme distortion of elements.In the present study,a copper particle impact on the same material substrate in cold spraying was simulated using the Eulerian formulation available in the ABAQUS software(Ver 6.8).The dependency of the calculated outputs on the meshing resolution were detailedly investigated.Results show that the meshing resolution not only has an effect on the shape of the deformed particle,but also it can significantly influence the maximum plastic strain and temperature under a given impact velocity.In addition,the copper particle deformation process at the critical velocity of 310 m/s shows that a jet composed of both of the particle and substrate materials can be formed and gets elongated with the impact time.     

Formation of Solid Splats During Thermal Spray Deposition

This paper reviews the findings of recent research on the formation of solid splats by the impact of thermal spray particles on solid substrates. It discusses methods of describing the substrate, by characterizing both chemical (oxide layers) and physical (surface topography, adsorbed and condensed contaminants) aspects. Recent experiments done to observe impact of thermal spray particle are surveyed and techniques used to photograph particle impact and measure cooling rates described. The use of numerical modeling to simulate impact and deformation of impacting particles is appraised. Two different break-up mechanisms are identified: solidification around the edges of splats; and perforations in the interior of thin liquid films created by droplet spreading without solidification. These two modes can be reproduced in numerical models by varying the value of thermal contact resistance between the splat and substrate. A simple criterion to predict the final splat shape is presented.     

Numerical Study on the Effect of Substrate Angle on Particle Impact Velocity and Normal Velocity Component in Cold Gas Dynamic Spraying Based on CFD

Numerical study was conducted to investigate the effect of substrate angle on particle impact velocity and normal velocity component in cold gas dynamic spraying by using three-dimensional models based on computational fluid dynamics. It was found that the substrate angle has significant effect on particle impact velocity and normal velocity component. With increasing the substrate angle, the bow shock strength becomes increasingly weak, which results in a gradual rise in particle impact velocity. The distribution of the impact velocity presents a linearly increase along the substrate centerline due to the existence of the substrate angle and the growth rate rises gradually with increasing the substrate angle. Furthermore, the normal velocity component reduces steeply with the increase in substrate angle, which may result in a sharp decrease in deposition efficiency. In addition, the study on the influence of procedure parameters showed that gas pressure, temperature, type, and particle size also play an important role in particle acceleration.     

Particle Bonding Mechanism in Cold Gas Dynamic Spray: A Three-Dimensional Approach

Cold gas dynamic spray (CGDS) is a surface coating process that uses highly accelerated particles to form the surface coating. In the CGDS process, metal particles with a diameter of 1-50 µm are carried by a gas stream at high pressure (typically 20-30 atm) through a de Laval-type nozzle to achieve supersonic velocity upon impact onto the substrate. Typically, the impact velocity ranges between 300 and 1200 m/s in the CGDS process. When the particle is accelerated to its critical velocity, which is defined as the minimum in-flight velocity at which it can deposit on the substrate, adiabatic shear instabilities will occur. Herein, to ascertain the critical velocities of different particle sizes on the bonding efficiency in CGDS process, three-dimensional numerical simulations of single particle deposition process were performed. In the CGDS process, one of the most important parameters which determine the bonding strength with the substrate is particle impact temperature. It is hypothesized that the particle will bond to the substrate when the particle’s impacting velocity surpasses the critical velocity, at which the interface can achieve 60% of the melting temperature of the particle material (Ref 1, 2). Therefore, critical velocity should be a main parameter on the coating quality. Note that the particle critical velocity is determined not only by its size, but also by its material properties. This study numerically investigates the critical velocity for the particle deposition process in CGDS. In the present numerical analysis, copper (Cu) was chosen as particle material and aluminum (Al) as substrate material. The impacting velocities were selected between 300 and 800 m/s increasing in steps of 100 m/s. The simulation result reveals temporal and spatial interfacial temperature distribution and deformation between particle(s) and substrate. Finally, a comparison is carried out between the computed results and experimental data.     

Knowledge concerning splat formation: An invited review

This paper summarizes our knowledge at the beginning of 2003 about splat formation. First, the analytical and numerical models related to the impact and flattening of single particles on smooth or rough substrates with different tilting are recalled. Then, the different diagnostic methods, including imaging, are briefly described. The last part of the paper is devoted to the results and their discussion. Studies are related to the effect of various parameters on particle flattening. They include the characteristics of particles prior to impact: normal impact velocity, temperature, molten state, oxidation state, etc.; the parameters related to the substrate: tilting angle, roughness, oxide layer composition, thickness and crystallinity, desorption of adsorbates and condensates, wetting properties between impacting particle and substrate, etc.; and, finally, the parameters related to the heat exchange between the flattening particle and the substrate. They depend on previous parameters and control the propagation of the solidification front within the flattening particle, eventually modifying its liquid flow. It is obvious from this review that, if our understanding of the involved phenomena has been drastically improved during the last years, many points have still to be clarified. This is of primary importance because all the coating properties are linked to the particle flattening, splat formation, and layering.     

Fe粒子参数对低温超音速火焰喷涂层构建的影响

应用LS-DYNA大应变有限元耦合算法,研究了低温超音速火焰喷涂Fe粒子参数对喷涂层构建的影响.结果表明,随着粒子温度或者速度的升高,粒子所含内能的增加,使得涂层界面温度不断升高,粒子的沉积塑性应变发生变化.粒子在不同基体上的沉积特征表明基体硬度将影响沉积粒子与基体界面的结合状态.随着涂层的构成,后续粒子对已沉积粒子的高速撞击使得先沉积的粒子产生二次塑性变形,并引发温变.先沉积的粒子塑性变形引起的粗化作用将降低后续粒子沉积的临界速度.这些将导致涂层在拉应力作用下发生脆性断裂.     

冷喷涂过程中能量变化及沉积行为的模拟研究

采用有限元分析软件ANSYS/LS-DYNA,模拟了超音速冷喷涂过程中的颗粒碰撞过程,研究了高速颗粒与基板碰撞时的能量转化、分配以及颗粒沉积过程,分析了碰撞速度和材料特性对它们的影响.结果表明,碰撞过程中,颗粒和基板材料均发生塑性变形,使颗粒的动能被消耗,且绝大部分动能转变为材料内能.碰撞完成之后,颗粒动能被分配到颗粒和基板材料中,定义碰撞之后分配到颗粒中的与分配到基板中的能量之间的比值为能量分配系数K,K值过高或过低,均表明颗粒和基板之间变形能力相差较大,不利于颗粒与基板结合形成良好的涂层.系统初始动能以及颗粒与基板材料性能对K值都有影响.     

Prediction of Critical Velocity During Cold Spraying Based on a Coupled Thermomechanical Eulerian Model

In cold spraying (CS), critical velocity of particles is one of the most important parameters. The impacting particle and substrate inevitably undergo a strong thermomechanical coupling process at the contacting interface and serious plastic deformation in a very short time. In this paper, a coupled thermomechanical Eulerian (CTM-Eulerian) model was, for the first time, developed for CS particles to investigate plastic deformation and heat conduction within the bulk, and to predict the critical velocity. Results show that heat conduction has a significant effect on the temperature distribution within the particle which will influence the atom diffusion at the impacting interface, while a little influence on plastic deformation. Moreover, based on the deformed particle shapes and plastic strain analysis, a calculated critical velocity of about 300 m/s for copper is obtained. Finally, this CTM-Eulerian model is extended to other commonly sprayed materials and the predicted critical velocities of Fe, Ni, SS304, Al, In718, and TC4 are about 350, 380, 395, 410, 490, and 500 m/s, respectively.     

Multiscale Model on Deposition Behavior of Agglomerate Metal Particles in a Low-Temperature High-Velocity Air Fuel Spraying Process

A multiscale model was constructed for agglomerate metal particle deposition in a low-temperature high-velocity air fuel (LTHVAF) thermal spraying process using finite element analysis (FEA) and smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). Here, the agglomerate particle impact on the substrate is simplified to three states. Then, the corresponding model is selected. The simulated results show that the temperature and velocity of agglomerate particle can affect the effective temperature and plastic strain in the contact interface for increasing particle energy. At the microscale, the deformation of the deposited particle might coarsen the coating surface to the extent that the critical velocity of the metal particle would decrease. It indicates that the agglomerate particle might splash when it impacts on the substrate. The transient melting can be ascertained at an angle in an approach to the achievement of intermetallics combined with the modeling of the particle penetrating into the substrate. In this process, the effective strain of an agglomerate particle at the nanoscale is less than that at microscale, but the surface area ratio at nanoscale is large. The uncompacted state of the agglomerate particle can lead to a turbulent force when the agglomerate particle deposits on the substrate, which can reduce the penetration performance of the particle. This behavior can decrease the stress-strain of substrate and cause the cracked particle to sparkle.     

球磨纳米结构Fe40Al合金粉末及其冷喷涂沉积行为研究

目的研究冷喷涂用纳米结构Fe40Al合金粉末的球磨制备工艺及其在不同基体表面的冷喷涂沉积行为。方法以Fe粉、Al粉为原料,按照Fe-40Al进行配比混合,采用行星式球磨机制备纳米结构Fe40Al合金粉末,在不同硬度基体表面(不锈钢、低碳钢、纯铜及锡)冷喷涂沉积单个Fe40Al合金粉末颗粒。采用X射线衍射仪(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM),分析球磨过程中Fe40Al合金粉末的组织结构演变规律、粉末颗粒在不同基体表面的碰撞变形行为及沉积特性。结果球磨过程中,随着球磨时间的延长,Al扩散进入Fe晶格形成纳米结构Fe(Al)固溶体,球磨36 h后,Fe40Al合金粉末的晶粒尺寸约为35 nm,平均颗粒尺寸约为20μm,内部为精细层状结构。纳米结构Fe40Al合金粉末在硬度较高的不锈钢和低碳钢基体上沉积时,粉末颗粒发生强塑性变形而基体变形量较小,颗粒和基体间的结合较弱,沉积效果较差;当在硬度较低、塑性较好的Cu基体上沉积时,基体与粉末颗粒同时发生塑性变形,颗粒和基体间的结合较强,沉积效果最好;在硬度最低的Sn基体上沉积时,基体发生强烈的塑性变形且出现部分熔化,但颗粒几乎没有变形,且颗粒与基体间的结合很弱,沉积效果最差。结论采用球磨工艺可制备出适合冷喷涂用的纳米结构Fe40Al合金粉末,随着球磨时间的延长,粉末晶粒尺寸减小,硬度增加。基体种类对纳米结构Fe40Al合金粉末的冷喷涂沉积行为影响显著,基体硬度过高或过低均不利于粉末颗粒沉积,基体与粉末颗粒同时发生塑性变形有利于增强颗粒与基体间的界面结合,从而改善沉积效果。     

Effects of Substrate Hardness and Spray Angle on the Deposition Behavior of Cold-Sprayed Ti Particles

In this study, finite element analysis combined with experimental observation was conducted to clarify the effects of substrate hardness and spray angle on the deposition behavior of cold-sprayed Ti particles. It is found that metallurgical bonding is highly possible to occur between the Ti particle and Cu substrate due to the intensive metal jet at the rim of the interface which helps to remove the cracked oxides. Because metallurgical bonding and large interfacial contact area can guarantee high adhesion strength, the thick Ti coating is achieved after deposition on the Cu substrate. As for the soft Al substrate, the first layer Ti particles are embedded in and then trapped by the soft substrate material, which results in the occurrence of mechanical interlock at the interface. As a consequence, the final coating thickness is also relatively large. When using hard stainless steel as the substrate, the essential conditions for forming the mechanical interlock are lacked due to the high hardness of the substrate material. In addition, the metal jet at rim of the interface is less prominent and also the interfacial contact area is smaller in comparison with the Ti-Cu case. Therefore, the particle-substrate bonding strength and the consequent coating thickness are relatively low. Besides, it is also found that the particle deformation and coating quality are significantly affected by the spray angle. The deformation of the particle localizes at only one side due to the additional tangential momentum. Also, such localized deformation becomes increasingly intensive with decreasing the spray angle. Moreover, the coating thickness is found to reduce with the decrease in spay angle, but the coating porosity shows a reverse trend.     

Cold Gas-Sprayed Deposition of Metallic Coatings onto Ceramic Substrates Using Laser Surface Texturing Pre-treatment

Cold spraying enables a variety of metals dense coatings onto metal surfaces. Supersonic gas jet accelerates particles which undergo with the substrate plastic deformation. Different bonding mechanisms can be created depending on the materials. The particle–substrate contact time, contact temperature and contact area upon impact are the parameters influencing physicochemical and mechanical bonds. The resultant bonding arose from plastic deformation of the particle and substrate and temperature increasing at the interface. The objective was to create specific topography to enable metallic particle adhesion onto ceramic substrates. Ceramic did not demonstrate deformation during the impact which minimized the intimate bonds. Laser surface texturing was hence used as prior surface treatment to create specific topography and to enable mechanical anchoring. Particle compressive states were necessary to build up coating. The coating deposition efficiency and adhesion strength were evaluated. Textured surface is required to obtain strong adhesion of metallic coatings onto ceramic substrates. Consequently, cold spray coating parameters depend on the target material and a methodology was established with particle parameters (diameters, velocities, temperatures) and particle/substrate properties to adapt the surface topography. Laser surface texturing is a promising tool to increase the cold spraying applications.     

Relationship Between Impact Velocity of Al2O3 Particles and Deposition Efficiency in Aerosol Deposition Method

Aerosol deposition method (ADM) is a technique to form dense films by impacting solid particles to a substrate at room temperature. To improve the deposition efficiency in ADM, the relationship between the impact velocity of Al₂O₃ particles and the deposition efficiency was investigated in this study. Relative difference in impact particle velocity was evaluated by the increment percentage of the substrate surface area after deposition (ΔS). It is thought that the increase of ΔS means the increase of the impact particle velocity. When ΔS was lower than 10 %, the deposition efficiency increased from 0.082 to 0.104 % as ΔS increased from 3.46 to 9.25 %. Increasing impact particle velocity could promote the bonding between the particles themselves. On the other hand, when ΔS was higher than 10 %, the erosion of the film was observed and the deposition efficiency decreased to about 0.02 % as ΔS increased to about 40 %. SEM observation revealed that cracks parallel to the film surface were propagated. There is a possibility that this tendency of the deposition efficiency toward the impact particle velocity is common among the methods for forming ceramic films by impacting solid ceramic particles.     

Critical Deposition Condition of CoNiCrAlY Cold Spray Based on Particle Deformation Behavior

Previous research has demonstrated deposition of MCrAlY coating via the cold spray process; however, the deposition mechanism of cold spraying has not been clearly explained—only empirically described by impact velocity. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the critical deposit condition. Microscale experimental measurements of individual particle deposit dimensions were incorporated with numerical simulation to investigate particle deformation behavior. Dimensional parameters were determined from scanning electron microscopy analysis of focused ion beam-fabricated cross sections of deposited particles to describe the deposition threshold. From Johnson-Cook finite element method simulation results, there is a direct correlation between the dimensional parameters and the impact velocity. Therefore, the critical velocity can describe the deposition threshold. Moreover, the maximum equivalent plastic strain is also strongly dependent on the impact velocity. Thus, the threshold condition required for particle deposition can instead be represented by the equivalent plastic strain of the particle and substrate. For particle-substrate combinations of similar materials, the substrate is more difficult to deform. Thus, this study establishes that the dominant factor of particle deposition in the cold spray process is the maximum equivalent plastic strain of the substrate, which occurs during impact and deformation.