Cold Spray Coatings for Surface Enhancement of Inconel 718

Cold spray is an emerging additive manufacturing technology that is promising to be used for surface repair and enhancement. In this study, Inconel 713 coating was successfully deposited on Inconel 718 substrate using a high-pressure cold spray process. The microstructure and hardness of the coating were studied. The cold sprayed Inconel 713 coating had a very low porosity level due to the severe plastic deformation of the splats. Hardness of the coating is much higher than that of Inconel 718 substrate. The regions closer to the substrate-coating interface in the coating showed higher hardness value compared to those located further away from the interface. This phenomenon can be attributed to the peening effect during high-velocity impact of Inconel 713 particles with the Inconel 718 substrate. This study demonstrates that cold sprayed coatings have the potential to increase surface hardness and further improve wear resistance of the Inconel 718 substrate.