Mathematical Modeling and Experimental Validation of the Warm Spray (Two-Stage HVOF) Process

The warm spray (WS) gun was developed to make an oxidation-free coating of temperature-sensitive material, such as titanium and copper, on a substrate. The gun has a combustion chamber followed by a mixing chamber, in which the combustion gas is mixed with the nitrogen gas at room temperature. The temperature of the mixed gas can be controlled in the range of about 1000-2500 K by adjusting the mass flow rate of nitrogen gas. The gas in the mixing chamber is accelerated to supersonic speed through a converging-diverging nozzle followed by a straight barrel. This paper shows how to construct the mathematical model of the gas flow and particle velocity/temperature of the WS process. The model consists of four parts: (a) thermodynamic and gas-dynamic calculations of combustion and mixing chambers, (b) quasi-one-dimensional calculation of the internal gas flow of the gun, (c) semiempirical calculation of the jet flow from the gun exit, and (d) calculation of particle velocity and temperature traveling in the gas flow. The validity of the mathematical model is confirmed by the experimental results of the aluminum particle sprayed by the WS gun.