Evaluation of Cold Spray Process for Repair of Damaged ALCLAD 2024-T3 Aircraft Skin: The Advantages and Limitations

Unlike thermal spray process, the recent development of cold spray technology has made possible the deposition of dense and oxide-free coatings; with good adhesion and with almost no degradation on the microstructure of the coated parts.  This work will focus on the performance of using low pressure cold gas dynamic spray system (LP-CGDS) to repair damaged Alclad 2024-T3 aircraft skin.  The effect of the spraying process parameters on the quality of the coating has been investigated.  The optimal parameters’ of spraying commercially pure aluminum have been determined.  Microstructures, microhardness, adhesion strength, surface finish and corrosion resistance were performed using different ASTM & Boeing standards.