Subsurface Weave Pattern Influences on Polymer Cold Spray Deposits onto Woven Fiber-Reinforced Composites

Abstract The polymer cold spray (CS) process has recently been demonstrated as a promising coating and repair technique for fiber-reinforced polymer composites (FRPs). However, a noticeable variation in coating thickness (herein referred to as checkerboard pattern) often occurs in the initial pass of low-pressure CS deposition. The checkerboard pattern occurs due to the periodic variations in matrix thickness and volume above the subsurface fiber weave pattern. When the initial pass exhibits the so-called checkerboard pattern, the CS deposition for subsequent passes may be negatively affected in terms of deposition efficiency, porosity, adhesion, surface roughness, and thickness consistency. The present work compares results of both numerical simulations and experimental studies performed to reveal the governing mechanisms for and elimination of checkerboarding. Single particle impact numerical simulations are conducted to observe thermomechanical behavior of particles during CS impact on the FRP surface at different regions of the composite material. Complementary experimental CS studies of exemplar powders onto FRPs with various surface interlayer thicknesses are also presented and discussed. Experimental analyses of deposits include microstructural observations to compare against the simulations while also providing practical strategies for the elimination of checkerboarding effects. It is demonstrated that the thickness and volume of the matrix region underneath the impact area are the main contributing factors that govern the CS deposition variations on CFRP substrates. As such, increasing the surface epoxy layer thickness beyond a critical value can reduce the effect of substrate stiffness effects imposed by the subsurface fiber tows, thereby effectively eliminating the checkerboard patterns.