Electroplating Powder for Cold Spray Applications

Cold spray is a processing technique in which powder particles are accelerated toward a substrate on which they deposit and build a coating. In this process, it is essential to balance the velocity of the particle with the properties of the particle and the substrate; otherwise, the particles may either fail to deposit or may erode the substrate. Current work is exploring approaches that would allow for harder particles to be deposited on the surface of more ductile substrate without eroding the substrate. One approach to accomplish this is electroplating a softer coating on the hard powder. However, electrodeposits readily form a continuous layer binding the particles into a composite, rather than uniformly coating the powders. A specialized approach to electroplating has been successful with several different combinations of coatings and powders.