Numerical Modeling of Bond Formation in Polymer Surface Metallization Using Cold Spray

Surface metallization of polymeric materials using cold spray technology has gained increasing attention in the past decade. Experimental studies have evidenced multiple challenges of this process regarding continuity and homogeneity of the metallic deposits on polymer substrates. Modeling and simulation tools could be very helpful to assess the efficiency of different strategies suggested for improved deposition at a considerably reduced cost; nevertheless, the efforts to use numerical modeling in this sector have been less successful. Here, we develop a detailed finite element model for the cold spray deposition of metal particles on polymeric substrates to shed light on the underlying deposition mechanisms. The simulation results are compared with the literature experiments to establish the effectiveness of the proposed model. The developed model is able to capture the key phenomena involved in the deposition mechanism particularly the particle and substrate mechanical interlocking and substrate local melting. It is shown that a particle velocity threshold value should be exceeded to achieve an effective mechanical interlocking. The substate thermal domain and melting as well as the effects of particle velocity and size on deformation and particle anchorage are discussed.