Spark plasma sintering treatment of cold sprayed materials for synthesis and structural modification: A case study using TiC-Cu composites
Tomila M. Vidyuk, Dina V. Dudina, М. А. Корчагин, Alexander I. Gavrilov, Boris B. Bokhonov, Arina V. Ukhina, Maksim A. Esikov, V. S. Shikalov, В. Ф. Косарев
Abstract
Materials obtained by cold spraying (CS) are subjected to post-spray treatment to increase cohesion between the particles. In this work, spark plasma sintering (SPS) was used for reactive processing of cold spray deposits for the first time. A mixture of a Ti-C-3Cu ball-milled powder and copper was used as a feedstock material for the formation of Cu matrix composites by CS. SPS treatment of CS deposits was used for the in-situ synthesis of TiC, formation of a dense structure and elimination of microcracks at the interface between the substrate and the deposit. The mechanism of structural changes in the composite agglomerates upon reaction was discussed. The TiC-Cu composite particles in the microstructure of the SPS-treated material possess a microhardness of 390 ± 40 HV0.025, which makes them suitable as reinforcing elements of composite nature in the design of Cu matrix materials. This study shows that SPS treatment is a promising solution for post-spray processing of cold spray coatings.