Numerical and Experimental Modeling of an Inline Forming Process for the Mechanical Property Optimization of Cold Gas Sprayed Material Composites

Abstract

AbstractThe increased environmental awareness of politics and society is confronting the automotive and aviation industries with new challenges. This results in an increased need for research into new lightweight construction potentials. One of the most efficient lightweight materials is titanium. In particular, the high strength and corrosion resistance allows a wide range of applications. Nevertheless, titanium has a decisive disadvantage - its high material costs. One way of making the positive properties of titanium economically viable for industry is to combine it with less expensive materials such as steel or aluminum. For the present study, composite bodies of the steel S235 and titanium powder were produced by cold gas spraying.Compared to other additive processes, cold gas spraying offers the advantage that the powdery coating material is not melted. In addition, modern equipment can achieve very high build-up rates. However, cold gas spraying is a very sensitive process. For an optimal coating formation with respect to good bonding to the substrate material and low porosity, the process parameters must be adapted to the specific material combination.The aim of these investigations was the numerical modeling and experimental proof of a process combination of cold gas spraying with subsequent (inline) forming and heat treatment. The local forming of the sprayed coating is intended to increase its density and to introduce compressive stresses and also plastic strain. In addition, the defined plastic strain in combination with heat treatment by laser allows flexible adjustment of the mechanical properties.KeywordsCold gas sprayingComposite materialTitaniumHybrid process