Effects of Powder Feedstock Pre-heating on Polymer Cold Spray Deposition

Tristan W. Bacha, David A. Brennan, Ülar Tiitma, Isaac M. Nault, Francis M. Haas, Joseph F. Stanzione

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Polymer cold spray has been shown to produce coatings with low porosity and properties comparable to the bulk material. However, deposition efficiencies are generally low compared to more extensively studied metal sprays. Herein, the effects of powder temperature were investigated with high- and low-pressure cold spray systems. In the low-pressure system, a modified powder feed tube was used to pre-heat and pre-cool the powder feed stream before contacting the high-velocity carrier gas in the nozzle. Pre-heat was obtained in a high-pressure system by changing the size of the mixing chamber upstream of the nozzle that combines the powder feed and main process gasses. Numerical simulation demonstrated that pre-heating/cooling the powder feedstock directly affects a particle’s temperature on impact; however, this technique has generally not been deliberately utilized in the cold spray of polymers. In the present work, no significant increase in the observed deposition efficiency (≈ 65%) was found in the low-pressure sprays by increasing the particle pre-heat temperature. However, deposits of pre-heated particles had a mechanical strength (ASTM C633) 28% higher than particles injected at room temperature and −55 °C. High-pressure sprays demonstrated the opposite trend, which was attributed to the characteristics of the particle temperature profiles.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)488-501
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Thermal Spray Technology
Volume32
Issue number2-3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
  • Materials Chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Effects of Powder Feedstock Pre-heating on Polymer Cold Spray Deposition'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this