Our Corporate Technology Strategist, Dr. Julio Villafuerte, and Senior Account Manager, Wally Birtch, from Supersonic Spray Technologies, will present at the CSAT 2024 meeting on June 11th. They will discuss the practical implementation of helium-nitrogen in-line gas mixing for enhanced cold spray performance and cost optimization.
Presentation Highlights
Helium as a Carrier Gas: Enhances deposition efficiency and overall cold spray properties by tripling supersonic gas jet velocity. Challenges include high cost, limited availability, and capital-intensive recovery systems, especially for portable setups.
Innovative Gas Mixing Technology: Developed by the University of Ottawa, this in-line gas mixing technology blends nitrogen and helium at user-defined ratios. Even minimal helium concentrations significantly improve coating quality and performance. Cost analysis identified optimal nitrogen-helium ratios for cost-effective cold spray applications.
Real-World Implementations: The mixing system demonstrated operational mechanisms and cost benefits in industrial settings. Engineering optimization at ES3 USA confirmed the industrial viability of gas mixing systems, showcasing equivalent or superior coating performance compared to pure helium or nitrogen, leading to gas usage cost savings. Demonstrations focused on aluminum 7075 powder on 7075-T6 and 6061-T6 aluminum substrates, with significant savings at helium-to-nitrogen ratios of 75:25 and 67:33. Low-pressure applications further optimized gas usage and costs. Metallurgical results showed mixed-gas ratios of 75:25 and 67:33 outperformed pure helium, with ASTM C633 bond strengths equal to or greater than pure helium baselines, a uniform microstructure, and less than 1% porosity.
