LAUSR

Abstract Cold Spray (CS) process is a deposition process in which micron-to-nano sized solid particles are deposited on a substrate using high-velocity impacts. Unlike thermal spray processes, CS process does not melt the particles thus retaining their original physical and chemical properties. These characteristics make CS process ideal for various engineering applications. Though CS process offers excellent promises, the realization of its full potential is limited by lack of understanding of the effects of critical process parameters on the deposition process. This study aims to understand the effects of critical process parameters including impact velocity, the angle of impact and particle size at atomistic scale on the coating quality involved in CS process of metal particles using Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation technique. The focus of this study is on the coating of nanoparticles during cold spray process even though the results of this study can be extended to the micron regime because the larger particles tend to break into smaller fragments after the impact. The study found that the quality of deposition is highest for an impact velocity of 500-700 m/s, the particle size of 20 A and an impact angle of 90°. The findings of this study can help improve the coating quality during CS process.