Development of Cold Spray Titanium Parts by Additive Manufacturing and Titanium Coated Composite Parts for the Aerospace Sector

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a promising field as a sustainable alternative to traditional manufacturing processes for the aerospace sector because of the potential of low buy-to-fly ratio on materials. Cold spray offers the potential for AM of titanium parts due to its large deposition rates compared with current AM methods. However, some hurdles are found when spraying titanium by cold spray, in particular the tendency to have high porosity levels and the requirements to use of extreme spray parameters. This part of the research program aim at validating the potential of low pressure cold spray for
the AM of titanium parts for the aerospace sector. In parallel, the aerospace industry is using more composite materials such as carbon fiber reinforced composites (CFRCs). The strength-to-weight ratio and resistance to mechanical stress of aircraft skins are improved when using CFRCs but issues concerning the wear/erosion resistance at specific locations are arising. Current protective solutions are labor intensive and costly. It is envisioned that cold spray could be used to produce titanium coated CFRCs allowing for localized application of titanium, resulting in reduced weight and enhanced local protection. TO BE CONT’D

Faculty Supervisor:

Bertrand Jodoin

Student:

Ruben Fernandez

Partner:

Centerline Ltd.

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Aerospace and defense

University:

University of Ottawa