Fabrication of Ta-Ag composite deposits via cold spray: Investigation of bonding mechanism and deposition behavior

Abstract

Cold spray is a solid-state deposition technology that can achieve deposition of pure metal, alloys, and composites with high efficiency. By taking the advantage of cold spray method, in this work, Ta and Ag were successfully used to fabricate Ta-Ag composite deposits for the first time, despite their significantly different properties. It was found that mechanical bonding was the major deposition mechanism between Ta and Ag. The Ag volume in the mechanically mixed powder influence the deposition between Ag and Ta particles. Deposition of Ta-Ag powder was same as pure Ta powder when Ag volume was low, and the small volume of deposited Ag inhibit the deposition of Ta particles. Higher Ag volume in powder promoted the deposition of Ta particles via mechanical interlocking due to the formation of large Ag agglomerates.

Keywords

• Cold spray
• Ta-Ag composites
• Bonding mechanism
• Deposition behavior
• Biomaterials