Numerical Study of In-flight Particle Parameters in Low-Pressure Cold Spray Process

A 2-D model of the low-pressure cold spray with a radial powder feeding was established using CFD software in this study. The flow field was simulated for both propellant gases of nitrogen and helium. To predict the in-flight particle velocity and temperature, discrete phase model was introduced to simulate the interaction of particle and the supersonic gas jet. The experimental velocity of copper powder with different sizes was used to validate the calculated one for low-pressure cold spray process. The results show that the computational model can provide a satisfactory prediction of the supersonic gas flow, which is consistent with the experimental Schlieren photos. It was found that similar velocity was obtained with the drag coefficient formula of Henderson and with that of Morsi and Alexander. As the shape factor was estimated, the reasonable prediction of velocity for non-spherical particle can be obtained, to compare with the experimental results.