Hypervelocity powder deposition by pulsed power magnetic compression device

Summary form only given, as follows. This paper proposes two original concepts which, in combination, can bring fundamental advances to both manufacturing and materials technologies and the pulsed power approach to them. The first novel concept uses a hypervelocity accelerator for a new thermal spray process using electromagnetic forces to accelerate power particles to velocities of 2 km/sec or higher, more than twice that of the powder velocities of about 2 km/sec used by the existing state-of-the-art thermal spray processes (HVOF, D-gun, plasma spray) which are limited by their reliance on the thermodynamic expansion of gases. At velocities in excess of 2 km/sec, powder particles have sufficient kinetic energy to melt their own mass and an equivalent substrate mass on impact, thus creating a fusion bond of greater strength. The second original concept is a pulsed power supply, a new electrical machine-flux compressor with precisely controllable output capable of matching ideally the powder spraying hypervelocity accelerator at any moment of time. While novel, such a pulsed magnetic flux compressor-rotating electrical machine belongs, in a larger sense, to a family of electrical machines generically names compulsators invented at The University of Texas at Austin Center for Electromechanics. Due to their compensation systems, the compulsators are low internal impedance machines designed for pulsed duty and capable of providing large current pulses, with a rapid rise time (in our case, less than 25 5 sec to 80,000 kW-80 MW pulsed power) to a low impedance load-a hypervelocity square bore railgun accelerator (SBA) assuring an almost continuous process. This paper will also describe the laboratory system and the results of proof of principle experiments, and will show high speed photographs of powder particles confirming system modeling and performance. The paper will conclude with future directions of this program.