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Preparation of Aluminum Coatings Containing Homogenous Nanocrystalline Microstructures Using the Cold Spray Process

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Abstract

Nanostructured materials are of widespread interest because of the unique properties they offer. Well-proven techniques, such as ball milling, exist for preparing powders with nanocrystalline microstructures. Nevertheless, consolidation of nanocrystalline powders is challenging and presents an obstacle to the use of nanocrystalline metals. This work demonstrates that nanocrystalline aluminum powders can be consolidated using the cold spray process. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of the nanocrystalline cold spray coatings reveals that the cold spray process can cause significant grain refinement. Inert gas atomized 6061 and 5083 aluminum powders were ball milled in liquid nitrogen resulting in micron-sized powder containing 250-400 nm grains. Cold spray coatings prepared using these feed stock materials exhibited homogenous microstructures with grain sizes of 30-50 nm. TEM images of the as-received powders, ball-milled powders, and cold spray coatings are shown.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Leonardo Ajdelsztajn for his advice on sources for LN2 ball-milled powder and for his insightful work on cold-sprayed nanocrystalline aluminum. It was a foundation and significant motivator for the experiments reported here.

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This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    A. C. Hall & L. N. Brewer

  2. Ktech Corporation, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    T. J. Roemer

Authors
  1. A. C. Hall
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  2. L. N. Brewer
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  3. T. J. Roemer
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Correspondence to A. C. Hall.

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Hall, A.C., Brewer, L.N. & Roemer, T.J. Preparation of Aluminum Coatings Containing Homogenous Nanocrystalline Microstructures Using the Cold Spray Process. J Therm Spray Tech 17, 352–359 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-008-9180-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-008-9180-6

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