• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.229-236
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• 2018

Accident-tolerant fuels (ATFs) are currently of high interest to researchers in the nuclear industry and in governmental and international organizations. One widely studied accident-tolerant fuel concept is multilayer cladding (also known as coated cladding). This concept is based on a traditional Zr-based alloy (Zircaloy-4, M5, E110, ZIRLO etc.) serving as a substrate. Different protective materials are applied to the substrate surface by various techniques, thus enhancing the accident tolerance of the fuel. This study focuses on the results of testing of Zircaloy-4 coated with pure chromium metal using the cold spray (CS) technique. In comparison with other deposition methods, e.g., Physical vapor deposition (PVD), laser coating, or Chemical vapor deposition techniques (CVD), the CS technique is more cost efficient due to lower energy consumption and high deposition rates, making it more suitable for industry-scale production. The Cr-coated samples were tested at different conditions ($500^{\circ}C$ steam, $1200^{\circ}C$ steam, and Pressurized water reactor (PWR) pressurization test) and were precharacterized and postcharacterized by various techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy, Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), or nanoindentation; results are discussed. Results of the steady-state fuel performance simulations using the Bison code predicted the concept's feasibility. It is concluded that CS Cr coating has high potential benefits but requires further optimization and out-of-pile and in-pile testing.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.348-355
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• 2012

Cold spray deposition using Titanium powder was carried out to investigate the effects of powder morphology and powder preheating on the coating properties such as porosity and hardness. The in-flight particle velocity of Ti powder in cold spray process was directly measured using the PIV (particle image velocimetry) equipment. Two types of powders (spherical and irregular ones) were used to manufacture cold sprayed coating layer. The results showed that the irregular morphology particle appeared higher in-flight particle velocity than that of the spherical one under the same process condition. The coating layer using irregular morphology powder represented lower porosity level and higher hardness. Two different preheating conditions (no preheating and preheating at $500^{\circ}C$) were used in the process of cold spraying. The porosity decreased and the hardness increased by conducting preheating at $500^{\circ}C$. It was found that the coating properties using different preheating conditions were dependent not on the particle velocity but on the deformation temperature of particle. The deposition mechanism of particles in cold spray process was also discussed based on the experimental results of in flight-particle velocity.

• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.193-199
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• 2008

Spray coating is a versatile surface modification technology in which coating is built-up based on the successive deposition of micron-scaled particles. Depending on the coating materials, the coatings can meet the required mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and other properties of base materials. Spraying processes are mainly classified into thermal and kinetic spraying according to their bonding mechanism and deposition characteristics. Specifically, thermal spraying process can be further classified into many categories based on the design and mechanism of the process, such as frame spraying, arc spraying, atmospheric plasma spraying (APS), and high velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF) spraying, etc. Kinetic spraying or cold gas dynamic spraying is a newly emerging coating technique which is low-temperature and high-pressure coating process. In this paper, overall view of thermal and kinetic spray coating technologies is discussed in terms of fundamentals and industrial applications. The technological characteristics and bonding mechanism of each process are introduced. Deposition behavior and properties of technologically remarkable materials are reviewed. Furthermore, industrial applications of spray coating technology and its potentials are prospected.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.1069-1074
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• 2019

A novel fabrication method of oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steel cladding tubes for advanced fast reactors has been investigated using the cold spray powder-based materials deposition process. Cold spraying has the potential advantage for rapidly fabricating ODS cladding tubes in comparison with the conventional multi-step extrusion process. A gas atomized spherical 14YWT (Fe-14%Cr, 3%W, 0.4%Ti, 0.2% Y, 0.01%O) powder was sprayed on a rotating cylindrical 6061-T6 aluminum mandrel using nitrogen as the propellant gas. The powder lacked the oxygen content needed to precipitate the nanoclusters in ODS steel, therefore this work was intended to serve as a proof-of-concept study to demonstrate that free-standing steel cladding tubes with prototypical ODS composition could be manufactured using the cold spray process. The spray process produced an approximately 1-mm thick, dense 14YWT deposit on the aluminum-alloy tube. After surface polishing of the 14YWT deposit to obtain desired cladding thickness and surface roughness, the aluminum-alloy mandrel was dissolved in an alkaline medium to leave behind a free-standing ODS tube. The as-fabricated cladding tube was annealed at $1000^{\circ}C$ for 1 h in an argon atmosphere to improve the overall mechanical properties of the cladding.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.245-252
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• 2013

This study attempted to manufacture a Cu-Ga coating layer via the cold spray process and to investigate the applicability of the layer as a sputtering target material. In addition, changes made to the microstructure and properties of the layer due to annealing heat treatment were evaluated, compared, and analyzed. The results showed that coating layers with a thickness of 520 mm could be manufactured via the cold spray process under optimal conditions. With the Cu-Ga coating layer, the ${\alpha}$-Cu and $Cu_3Ga$ were found to exist inside the layer regardless of annealing heat treatment. The microstructure that was minute and inhomogeneous prior to thermal treatment changed to homogeneous and dense with a more clear division of phases. A sputtering test was actually conducted using the sputtering target Cu-Ga coating layer (~2 mm thickness) that was additionally manufactured via the cold-spray coating process. Consequently, this test result confirmed that the cold sprayed Cu-Ga coating layer may be applied as a sputtering target material.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.723-724
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• 2007

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.11
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• pp.728-733
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• 2009

Cu based amorphous ($Cu_{54}Zr_{22}Ti_{18}Ni_{6}$) powders were deposited onto Al 6061 substrates by cold spray process with different powder preheating temperatures (below glass transition temperature: $350^{\circ}C$, near glass transition temperature: $430^{\circ}C$ and near crystallization temperature: $500^{\circ}C$). The microstructure and macroscopic properties (hardness, wear and corrosion) of Cu based amorphous coating layers were also investigated. X-ray diffraction results showed that cold sprayed Cu based amorphous coating layers of $300{\sim}350{\mu}m$ thickness could be well manufactured regardless of powder preheating temperature. Porosity measurements revealed that the coating layers of $430^{\circ}C$ and $500^{\circ}C$ preheating temperature conditions had lower porosity contents (0.88%, 0.93%) than that of the $350^{\circ}C$ preheating condition (4.87%). Hardness was measured as 374.8 Hv ($350^{\circ}C$), 436.3 Hv ($430^{\circ}C$) and 455.4 Hv ($500^{\circ}C$) for the Cu based amorphous coating layers, respectively. The results of the suga test for the wear resistance property also corresponded well to the hardness results. The critical anodic current density ($i_{c}$) according to powder preheating temperature conditions of $430^{\circ}C$, $500^{\circ}C$ was lower than that of the sample preheated at $350^{\circ}C$, respectively. The higher hardness, wear and corrosion resistances of the preheating conditions of near $T_{g}$ and $T_{x}$, compared to the properties of below $T_{g}$, could be well explained by the lower porosity of coating layer.

• Composites Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.199-204
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• 2023

A combination of a metallic mesh and an adhesive layer of metallic particle/epoxy composite was introduced as an intermediate layer to enhance the adhesion between cold-sprayed particles and fiber-reinforced composites (FRCs). Aluminum was considered for both the metallic particles in the adhesive and the metallic mesh. To predict the mechanical characteristics of the intermediate bond layer under a high strain rate, the properties of the adhesive layer needed to be calculated or measured. Therefore, in this study, the Al particle/epoxy adhesive was homogenized by using a rule of mixture. To verify the homogenization, the penetration depth, and the thickness decrease after the cold spray deposition from the undeformed surface, was monitored with FE analysis and compared with experimental observation. The comparison displayed that the penetration depth was comparable to the diameters of one cold spray particle, and thus the homogenization approach can be reasonable for the prediction of the stress level of particulate polymer composite interlayer under a high strain rate for cold spray processing.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.9
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• pp.550-557
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• 2009

In this study, bronze or SUS304 powders blended with 10 wt.% diamond particles were used to prepare metal/diamond composite materials deposited by cold spraying. The effects of matrix metal, diamond partical size, and the thickness of the Ni coating on the diamond were studied on Al 6061 substrate. The results showed that the hardness of the metal/diamond composite coating layers was higher than that of the same composite materials when using the sintering method. The fraction of diamond content in the coated layer increased when the metal matrix was soft. When the size of the diamond particles was reduced, the fraction of the diamond particles increased. In addition, in the case of diamond with a thicker Ni-coated layer, the fracturing of diamonds was mitigated in the composite coating layers.

• International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.51-53
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• 2008

A new nano-particle deposition system (NPDS) was developed for a ceramic and metal coating process. Nano- and micro-sized powders were sprayed through a supersonic nozzle at room temperature and low vacuum conditions to create ceramic and metal thin films on metal and polymer substrates without thermal damage. Ceramic titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) powder was deposited on polyethylene terephthalate substrates and metal tin (Sn) powder was deposited on SUS substrates. Deposition images were obtained and the resulting chemical composition was measured using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The test results demonstrated that the new NPDS provides a noble coating method for ceramic and metal materials.