Cold Spray coatings for automotive cylinder block application

1. Cold Spray is one of the most innovative thermal spray processes. The number of industrial applications for cold spray has been growing dramatically over the past 10 years. Automotive cylinder block with an inner diameter coating that can substitute liners could be one of the application. It requires the use of an inner diameter gun with a very short nozzle. The realization of coatings was studied using this specific gun. The Cold Spray process parameters were investigated through a CCF design of experiment model. The effect of those parameters on particles speed and deposition efficiency was demonstrate and an optimization is proposed to make the application reliable for automotive mass production. Also coating quality criteria were analyzed, like porosity, hardness and adhesion. The porosity level appears to be adjustable with the process parameters so it could be adjusted to insure the best lubrication of the engine.