Supersonic Cold Spray Repair System

Abstract: This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will evaluate the feasibility of using Supersonic Cold Spray (SCS) technology to repair consumable submarine and surface ship components such as pump lodes, impellers, cones, and motor casings. These units are made from red brass or bronze materials and are very expensive and past history has shown that these units cannot be repaired by conventional means. As a consequence, the Navy is forced to return to the foundries for new castings. Dealing with these vendors has been difficult. Common complaints include: Tooling is hard to get Cost of castings is extremely expensive in small quantities. Some foundries often"no quote"small quantity orders Vendors increase prices to unreasonable levels for replacement parts Lead times are often very long, in some cases up to 48 weeks Technology Applications Group, Inc. (TAG) and team members proposes to develop novel cold spray repair techniques (fixed and portable) for the repair of these critical parts at on-shore and on-ship repair facilities. A systems approach using supersonic cold spray (SCS) repair technology will help fulfill this need by providing a method for salvaging parts, reducing high casting scrap rates and OEM schedule delays. Initial work will revolve around the use of red brass and bronze powder in a SCS system to restore dimensional loss, corrosion pitting and wear erosion areas. Additionally, TAG proposes to use SCS in order to deposit a surface layer created from custom alloys that are far more resistant to the types of wear the Navy sees on its pump components. The technology is currently available to apply much more corrosion and erosion resistant materials to a metal substrate if situation calls for it. Alternate coatings may be a better long term, cost effective solution for the Navy and allow this proposal to present an innovative solution to the current problem. This proposal will not only try to help Navy personnel repair their priming pump parts but make them last far beyond the existing service life that they see in the real world. Lastly, TAG and its team members will evaluate the feasibility of a multi-use SCS systems capable of fixed and portable repairs and develop a conceptual design.