Influence of cold gas spray processing conditions on the properties of 316L stainless steel coatings

Abstract

It is well known that particle velocity before deposition is one of the most important parameters for fabrication of the high-quality cold sprayed coatings. In this work, 316L stainless steel powders were deposited on the substrate with the same material. The influence of particle size, morphology and processing parameters such as gas pressure (up to 4 MPa) and temperature (up to 1000°C), on particle velocity have been investigated using a DPV-2000 in-flight particle velocity monitoring system, followed by the measurement and analysis of deposition efficiency and coating mechanical properties including tensile strength and micro-hardness of the coatings. The results show that a higher particle velocity can be achieved by using particles with an angular morphology and a finer particle size. Higher particle velocities, resulting from higher working gas pressure and temperature, yield much denser coatings with higher deposition efficiency, micro-hardness and tensile strength.