Cold and Detonation Spraying of TiB₂-Cu Nanocomposites

Abstract

TiB2-43vol.%Cu nanocomposite powders with titanium diboride particle size 50-100 nm were cold and detonation sprayed in order to fabricate coatings on a copper substrate. The powders were produced by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) followed by mechanical milling. The temperatures during spraying were calculated and the change in the nanostructure of the powders during spraying was studied: in cold sprayed coatings the size of TiB2 particles was well retained, in detonation sprayed coatings the growth of the particles was observed, the mode of spraying greatly affecting the microstructure and the size of the particles. The hardness of cold sprayed coatings was higher compared to detonation sprayed coatings. This research shows the future potential for development of coatings with submicron and nanostructure by cold and detonation spraying of powders produced by mechanical milling.

Materials Development Using High-Energy Ball Milling: A Review Dedicated to the Memory of M.A. Korchagin

“…A series of studies conducted by our group were focused on the formation mechanisms, microstructure and properties of coatings obtained from HEBM powders by cold spraying (CS) [57][58][59] and detonation spraying (DS) [57,[60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68]. The purpose of HEBM was to produce composite particles suitable for spraying or to form an alloy from the starting metallic components.…”

Computer-Controlled Detonation Spraying: Flexible Control of the Coating Chemistry and Microstructure

“…During detonation spraying of TiB 2 -Cu nanocomposite powders, no reaction between the components occurred, as titanium diboride did not react with copper [39,40]. The size of TiB 2 particles in the coatings depends on the spraying conditions: coatings, in which the growth of TiB 2 particles is limited, can be obtained.…”