Effects of gas temperature and ceramic particle content on microstructure and microhardness of cold sprayed SiCp/Al 5056 composite coatings

SiC reinforced Al 5056 composite coatings were prepared by cold spraying. Effects of gas temperature and SiC content in the composite coatings on microstructure and microhardness of the coatings were studied. Results show that the gas temperature improves the coating deposition efficiency, but has no effect on the volume fraction of SiC in the coatings and thus no influence on the coating microhardness. Cold spraying pure SiC powder shows deposition behaviors of SiC particles during the formation of composite coatings, i.e., cracking, embedment and rebounding. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.