Webinars
06 June 2023
Joint Industry Project Launch: Improving and Industrialising Cold Spray Repair
We are launching a new Joint Industry Project (JIP) investigating the use of cold spray as a means of repairing damage to components including from corrosion, wear and foreign object impact.
Even relatively minor damage can lead to a component being removed from service, which is expensive and wasteful. As well as requiring the need to hold stock or remove assets from service while new components are manufactured, the replacement or conventional repair of such items has an impact on the environment due to the energy used and any associated CO2 emissions from the repair.
The current fusion/weld-based techniques for repairing metallic components introduce heat to the material microstructure, which can cause an unacceptable degradation of mechanical properties. Weld-based repairs are also challenging for materials such as aluminium, magnesium, and titanium as they often require inert environments to counteract their high oxygen sensitivity. In addition, weld-based repair create residual stresses that can distort parts or reduce their fatigue life.
Another repair technique currently in use involves a repair using polymer fillers like epoxy. However, these materials provide limited mechanical properties, a reduced upper temperature limit and a restricted repair lifetime.
Cold Spray Repairs
Our upcoming joint industry project, ‘Improving and Industrialising Cold Spray Repair,’ will investigate how cold spray offers an alternative solution with little or no heat input, high levels of flexibility across different applications, high deposition rates that allow for fast repair times and a capability to repair even oxygen sensitive materials without the normal associated drawbacks.
Cold spray is a method that promises excellent quality to cost ratios for repairs in industries including aerospace, construction, oil and gas, rail, defence, and more. This project will develop new approaches to cold spray repair, improved deposit performance and an increase in the range of materials to be sprayed.
Why Join this Joint Industry Project?
We are inviting companies to join this project and gain access to the latest techniques for improved cold spray deposition and repaired component lifetimes. You will gain information about the tools used to control and monitor the process, giving you increased confidence in cold spray as an efficient and repeatable repair solution.
Not only will you gain access to independent datasets to assist your decision-making but also repair frameworks, guideline documents, proven QA and NDE techniques that can reduce your costs and accelerate the ability to adopt cold spray within a commercial environment.
By joining this project, you will be able to guide the direction of the research to suit your own challenges, while the cost of this original research will be split between the JIP subscribers, with all participants getting access to the final report.
This webinar will provide more details to those interested in this original research. We hope you are able to join us.
Meet the team
Henry Begg
Section Manager - Surface, Corrosion and Interface Engineering
Henry joined TWI as a Project Leader in 2013 having completed a PhD on the processing of advanced aluminium alloys. Since joining, he has managed a range of R&D activities relating to coatings and surface engineering across a diverse set of industry sectors. For the past three years, he has led the surface engineering team and has recently also taken management responsibility for the electrochemical corrosion and permeation testing activities at TWI.
Surface engineering activities at TWI span a broad range of process technologies and applications, from thin, functional coatings that create repellent surfaces, right up to thick weld overlays for heavy-duty industrial service. The surface engineering team has a particular focus on thermal and cold spray technology, providing support to industry across a wide range of TRL/MRL levels. They assist TWI members in developing new materials and processes, providing characterisation and performance testing in bespoke environments and supporting the automation and coating of large demonstrator components.