Emerging4.5
Microstructural Evolution in Cold Spray Al Alloys 6061 and 5083
The cold spray process is a cost effective process for repairing damaged parts or creating structural bulk materials for military aircraft that require high maneuverability, durability, ballistic protection, and energy efficiency. A high strength, high toughness, light weight alloy is needed for this application. Conventional aluminum powders are currently being used in this process. However, there is a need for a tailored alloy that would optimize the properties of the deposited materials. A through-process model that includes powder production, powder pre-processing, the cold spray process, and post-processing would benefit the current trial and error cold spray process immensely and would aid in the search for an optimal cold sprayable alloy. Thermodynamic and kinetic models are utilized to create the powder production and pre-processing stages. These models can identify the optimum microstructure and microchemistry of the material and any pre-processing steps required. The particle impact model predicts the deformation of powder particles during impact. Current work focuses on the characterization of the microstructural evolution to verify and enhance the powder production and pre-processing models as well as the particle impact model. Particle, grain size and microstructural morphology for powders and corresponding cold sprayed materials are determined through optical and scanning electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction along with scanning and transmission electron microscopy are used to identify the phases present and precipitate morphology. Finally, mechanical property testing will be correlated to the amount of deformation predicted by the particle impact model.