Advanced Dynamic Nanomechanical Characterization of Cold Gas-Dynamic Sprayed Material Consolidations, Coatings and Deposits

Cold gas-dynamic spray is a solid-state materials consolidation technology that has experienced successful adoption within the coatings, remanufacturing and repair sectors of the advanced manufacturing community. As of late, cold spray has also emerged as a high deposition rate metal additive manufacturing method for structural and nonstructural applications. As cold spray enjoys wider recognition and adoption, the demand for versatile, high-throughput and statistically significant methods of consolidated materials characterization has also become more notable. In order to address the interest for such an instrument, nanoindentation is presented herein as a viable means of achieving the desired mechanical characterization abilities. At the same time, nanoindentation can yield dynamic properties and stress-strain behavior without the need for time- and monetarily-intensive tensile testing systems that require the production of sacrificial coupons. Therefore, in this work, conventionally static nanoindentation testing using both Berkovich and spherical indenter tips, as well as nanoindentation using the continuous stiffness measurement mode of testing, will be applied to a range of cold sprayed materials and substrates, which include Al alloys, gas atomized and spray-dried Cu feedstocks, and steels, among others. Additional experimental analysis will be performed via scanning electron microscopy, micro-indentation and tensile testing.