Residual Stresses in Cold Spray Process Using Finite Element Analysis

Abstract

In cold spray process, the simulation of coating deposition and the arising residual stress analysis are critical for an optimisation of process conditions. However, there are not many published literatures on the role of residual stresses in a cold sprayed coating. In addition, the multi-particles deposition behavior is also not well known, especially when coating of pure titanium powder is considered. This paper considers the development of an explicit finite element model of a cold spray process with defined initial and boundary environment. The explicit finite element model is then used to determine the optimum operating parameters to deposit titanium particles. It is also used to predict the residual stress developed in the coating by examining a fluid/structure interaction. The measured velocity and temperature from Computational Fluid Dynamics model are then use as initial input parameters to the explicit dynamic simulation. The predicted results reveal that Finite Element Method can be used to study the development of residual stress in a cold-sprayed coating as well as to find the optimum operating conditions to deposit coating of titanium particles before doing a real time fabrication.