Study of substrate/particle temperature upon impact in cold sprayed copper coatings

Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing (CSAM) has been established both as a coating process and an additive manufacturing (AM) process within the last decade or so, with many studies having been published on the properties of the deposits. These properties are often related to particle velocity upon impact and powder size distribution; however, comparatively little has been published on substrate/particle temperature upon impact. This work studies the temperature of the substrate/particle interface during spray of copper powder for different spray parameters. After spraying, the samples are heat treated at different temperatures and characterized by mechanical testing (e.g., adhesion) and metallography. Correlations are considered through comparisons between the particles’ impact temperature and velocity; the interplay between these cold spray parameters and the effect of heat treatment is also discussed.