Structural and chemical investigation into Ti/TiC coatings deposited with Cold Gas Spraying (CGS)
Nanostructured materials and coatings are a main subject in
research and development thanks to their good physical and
mechanical properties compared to crystalline materials [1].
Cold Gas Spraying (CGS) is a low-temperature method with
deposition carried out in the solid substrates relative to
conventional thermal spray [2]. The deposition is achieved through
powder acceleration to supersonic velocities in the de Laval type
nozzle [3] (Fig. 1). The technique was developed in the Institute of
Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Russian Academy of
Science in Novosibirsk [3].
The coating materials are injected into the carrier gas stream in
nanopowder form at the inlet of the de Laval nozzle. It is
accelerated in gas stream and propelled to the substrate with high
velocities. In the special chamber gas is heated to temperature
lower than the powder material’s melting point, before entering
the nozzle [4]. Only particles which reach the velocity higher than
the critical velocity could be deposited onto a substrate [5].
The low-temperature method, the very short time scales and the
use of more or less inert carrier gases (nitrogen, helium) make the
Cold Gas Spray technique useful for applications where it is vital
to avoid oxidation, maintain stoichiometry and to retain properties
of the powder in the coatings. In comparison to conventional
thermal spraying, CGS has the another advantage of being simple
to implement [6]. In the coatings titanium was used as a plastic
binder. The hard titanium carbides improve wear resistance.
The aim of this work is to present the results of microstructural
and compositional investigation into Ti/TiC coatings deposited by
means of supersonic spray[...]