Cold Spray Analysis of Polymer-Coated Metal Particles on Polymeric and Composite Substrates
Metallization of polymers and fiber-reinforced polymer composite is gaining attention due to the widespread application of these components in various industries, such as wind energy, aerospace, and automotive industries. Cold spray is a promising technique to achieve metallization of polymer and fiber-reinforced polymer composite. This work investigates the mechanisms of depositing polymer-coated metallic particles on polymer-based substrates by finite element analyses. Impact mechanics of PEEK-coated nickel particles impacting PEEK and carbon fiber-reinforced PEEK substrates are modeled. Results show the prominence of mechanical interlocking of metallic parts in the substrate, which occurs due to the entrapment of metallic parts inside the substrate facilitated by the high energy impact-induced welding of scraped PEEK coating. It is observed that the depth of the carbon fiber mat in the substrate affects the success and the mechanisms of deposition.
Keywords: cold spray, metallization, polymers, fiber-reinforced polymer, finite element analysis