Effect of gas temperature on cold spraying process and structure of Cu–TiC coatings
摘要
An experimental study of the specifics of the cold spraying process and structure formation of composite coatings over a wide range of temperatures (300–700 °C) was conducted using a copper and titanium carbide powder mixture. It was shown that an increase in the process air temperature from 300 to 500 °C significantly improves the efficiency of coating deposition, while the content of titanium carbide in the coating remains practically unchanged. However, a further increase in temperature to 700 °C does not affect the deposition efficiency, but causes a higher carbide content in the coating. At 300 °C, the plastic deformation and heating of copper particles upon impact result in no significant change in the average crystallite size in the coating compared to the powder. In the temperature range of 500–700 °C, thermal effects on the particles become the dominant factor leading to more intense softening and growth of copper crystallites. The refinement of particles and reduction in titanium carbide crystallite size with increasing gas temperature are attributed to the accumulation of internal stresses due to higher particle velocities and their fragmentation upon impact.