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Pull-off Testing and Electrical Conductivity of Sn-Based Metal Powder Mixtures Cold Sprayed on Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymers

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Abstract

A variety of metallic powders were mixed with tin in 10:90 weight ratios and cold sprayed onto thermosetting epoxy carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) substrates with varying surface finishes, and onto a thermoplastic polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK)-CFRP. Where previous studies focused on understanding the impact of the secondary component (SC) on the deposition efficiency (DE) of tin, this study aims to explore the pull-off strength and electrical conductivity of the deposited coatings. An extensive study on fractured surfaces highlighted that better adhesion usually arose from increased potential to mechanically interlock with a feature at the surface such as carbon fibers or surfacing elements. The polymeric nature of the composite resin was observed to affect the pull-off strengths as the ductile thermoplastic PEEK seems to absorb more of the impinging particle energy. The pull-off strengths were then related to the SC properties, and it was observed that the better coating strengths were obtained with SC that were previously reported to be detrimental to pure Sn deposition. Finally, four-point resistivity/conductivity measurements were carried out and results were generally better than those previously reported in the literature (50-80% the conductivity of bulk tin), with variations being associated with differing bonding quality within the coatings.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) through the Green-SEAM strategic network and the McGill Engineering Doctoral Award (MEDA). The industrial partners, Bombardier Aerospace and Tencate (through Pratt and Whitney Canada), are gratefully acknowledged. Mr. Kévin Bricault from National Research Council Canada, Boucherville, is acknowledged for his contribution to the cold-spray experiments. Mrs. Marie-Hélène Bernier from École Polytechnique de Montréal is acknowledged for her support in conducting the electrical conductivity measurements.

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  1. McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    Andre C. Liberati, Hanqing Che, Panteha Fallah & Stephen Yue

  2. National Research Council Canada, Boucherville, Canada

    Phuong Vo

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  1. Andre C. Liberati
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Liberati, A.C., Che, H., Fallah, P. et al. Pull-off Testing and Electrical Conductivity of Sn-Based Metal Powder Mixtures Cold Sprayed on Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymers. J Therm Spray Tech 31, 1792–1812 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-022-01405-0

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