Tue, 18 April, 2023
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.
Suitable for those working in a range of industries, you can find out more and register for this JIP, here.
We will also be holding a webinar to provide more details to those interested in this original research, which you can register for, here.