Study On Cold-sprayed Copper Coating's Properties And Optimizing Parameters For The Spraying Process

Cold spray method, which was developed recently, is a promising surface treating technology. At present study, copper coating was deposited on Al substrate successfully by Cold Gas Dynamic Spray method. In order to improve the coating's quality, orthogonal experimental approach was employed to optimize the parameters in cold spraying process. Relevant properties were tested respectively on the coating sprayed by optimized parameters. XRD was introduced to check whether oxidization occurred during cold spray process. The coating's microstructure was observed by both optical and scanning electronic microscopies. Electronic Tensile Tester and FM-700 type Microhardness Tester were introduced to determine the coating's mechanical properties. Copper coating's thermal and electric conductivities were examined respectively at Institute of Metal Research and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Science. The results indicated that the coating was dense and there was no oxidization occurred during cold spray process. Its bonding strength and microhardness reached 17.88 MPa and 160 respectively. The copper coating's thermal and electric conducting abilities were about 70% and 77% of bulk copper's.