Effect of particle size on the microstructure and properties of kinetic sprayed nickel coatings

This study aims to examine the effect of particle size on the microstructure and corresponding properties in kinetic sprayed coatings of commercially pure nickel (CP-Ni) in conjunction with finite element modeling (FEM). Prior to the experiments, the adhesion factors (interface temperature, contact time and contact area), rebound factor (relative recovery energy) and the resultant critical velocities of CP-Ni for different particle sizes and temperatures were estimated by FEM. Based on the simulations, three different sized CP-Ni powders were successfully deposited onto mild steel substrates using a powder preheating system. Here we suggest optimized windows of operation for particle sizes of CP-Ni based on the microstructure and properties of the coatings (i.e. deposition efficiency, bond strength and micro-hardness) which are in good correspondence with the simulation results. (C) 2010 Elsevier By. All rights reserved.