Deformation behavior of the oxide film on the surface of cold sprayed powder particle

In cold spraying, oxide-free interface is an important factor for metal-to-metal contact between powder particles and substrate, which determines the bonding strength and final coating quality. In this study, a systematic finite element analysis (FEA) is performed to examine the deformation behavior of the oxide film on an Al 6061-T6 particle surface after deposition. The simulation results show that the oxide film can be disrupted during the high velocity impact. Part of the cracked oxides remains at the interface and mainly accumulates at the central region after particle deposition. Substrate hardness, particle velocity and spray angle are found to influence the deformation behavior and final state of the oxide film. Besides, interparticle interaction is also investigated in the present work to clarify the deformation behavior of the oxide film inside the coating.