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Effect of Particle Size on Ceramic Particle Content in Cold Sprayed Al-Based Metal Matrix Composite Coating

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Abstract

Al-based metal matrix composites (MMCs) coatings, prepared by cold spray, have been extensively investigated in recent years. However, only a fraction of the ceramic reinforcement particles could be retained in the final deposit due to the rebound of the hard ceramic particles. Thus, improving the ceramic content in MMCs has been a longstanding issue. To address this issue, for the first time, the effect of particle size of the metal matrix as well as the reinforcement phases on the retention of ceramic particles (in the composite) was simultaneously studied. For this purpose, 12 different kinds of mechanically blended Al/B4C feedstock powders (with different particle sizes) were deposited by cold spray to prepare composite coatings. The results showed that the content of B4C in the prepared Al/B4C coating increases from ~ 20 to ~ 30 vol.% with the decrease in Al particle size from 42 to 11 µm. Finally, a mechanism, elaborating the influence of metal matrix particle size on the retention of ceramic particles in the coating, was proposed. The hardness test for selected Al/B4C composite coatings was performed, which is consistent to the change trend of B4C content.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by The National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2020YFB2007803) and IMR Innovation Fund (No. 2021-PY06).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shi-Changxu Innovation Center for Advanced Materials, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China

    Lijia Zhao, Yupeng Ren, Hanhui Liu, Rifei Han, Xinyu Cui, Jiqiang Wang & Tianying Xiong

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Shenyang, 110016, China

    Lijia Zhao, Yupeng Ren, Hanhui Liu & Rifei Han

  3. Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nilore, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Naeem ul Haq Tariq

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  1. Lijia Zhao
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Zhao, L., Tariq, N.u., Ren, Y. et al. Effect of Particle Size on Ceramic Particle Content in Cold Sprayed Al-Based Metal Matrix Composite Coating. J Therm Spray Tech 31, 2505–2516 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-022-01457-2

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