General-purpose numerical deposition modeling methodology based on mesh geometry reconstruction strategy in cold spray additive manufacturing system

Abstract

Cold spraying is an emerging additive manufacturing (AM) process that is receiving more and more attention, with very broad applications. At present, the focus of cold spray additive manufacturing (CSAM) is on the study of deposition mechanisms and coating performances. The deposit growth is influenced by many kinematic spraying parameters, such as the spraying angle, the stand-off distance, and the traverse speed. Achieving the desired deposition by trial and error is costly. More importantly, the manufacturing of complex components layer by layer implies the observation of the deposition process in real time to adjust the spraying strategy. This paper suggests a general-purpose MATLAB numerical deposition modeling based on a mesh geometry reconstruction strategy in CSAM to simulate the deposition process more accurately. Simulations and experiments were carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. The results showed that the methodology could accurately simulate the deposit growth during the CSAM process, which provides a practical guiding significance for CSAM system.