Introduction and Objectives: The properties of coatings deposited by cold spray depend on the parameters of the process. The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of gas pressure and stand-off distance of cold spray process of zinc on a low carbon steel substrate. Materials and Methods: In this research, zinc powder was sprayed at pressures of 20 and 30 bar and stand-off distances of 20 and 30 mm. The microstructure of the coatings was investigated using optical and scanning electron microscope and the micro-hardness of the coatings was measured. Then, the selected coating and steel substrate were subjected to polarization corrosion test. Results: The results showed that increasing the gas pressure from 20 to 30 bar decreased the porosity and increased the micro-hardness due to further deformation. Also, for a constant pressure, the stand-off distance of 20 mm has the lowest porosity and the highest micro-hardness due to the higher temperature of the particles when impact the substrate. The results obtained from the polarization test show that the coating has a sacrificial nature compared to the substrate and reduces the corrosion current density by 48% and corrosion rate by 33% compared to the substrate. Conclusion: In this study, the effect of gas pressure and stand-off distance of cold spray process of zinc on low carbon steel substrate was investigated. The results showed that increasing the gas pressure from 20 to 30 bar and reducing the stand-off distance from 30 to 20 mm improved porosity and increased coatings micro-hardness. The results of this study can be used to optimize the parameters of the cold spraying of zinc for use in various industries such as automotive, power plants and marine infrastructure.
Dwivedi D, Lepková K, Becker T. Carbon steel corrosion: a review of key surface properties and characterization methods. J RSC Advances 2017;7(8): 4580–610. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6RA25094G
Marder AR. The metallurgy of zinc-coated steel. Prog Mater Sci. 2000; 45(3): 191–271. https://doi. org/10.1016/S0079-6425(98)00006-1
Maledi NB, Oladijo OP, Botef I, Ntsoane TP, Madiseng A, Moloisane L. Influence of cold spray parameters on the microstructures and residual stress of Zn coatings sprayed on mild steel. Surf Coat Technol. 2017;318:106–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.surfcoat.2017.03.062
Vinay G, Chavan NM, Kumar S, Jyothirmayi A, Bodapati BR. Improved microstructure and properties of cold sprayed zinc coatings in the as sprayed condition. Surf Coat Technol. 2022;438 (March): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2022.128392
Tafreshi M, Allahkaram SR, Farhangi H. Comparative study on structure, corrosion properties and tribological behavior of pure Zn and different Zn-Ni alloy coatings. Mater Chem Phys. 2016;183: 263–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2016. 08.026
Lapushkina E, Yuan S, Mary N, Adrien J, Ogawa K, Normand B. Contribution in optimization of Zn Cold-sprayed coating dedicated to corrosion applications. Surf Coat Technol. 2020; 400(July): 126193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2020.126193
Güleç A, Cevher Ö, Türk A, Ustel F, Yılmaz F. Accelerated corrosion behaviors of Zn, Al and Zn/15Al coatings on a steel surface. Mater Tehnol. 2011;45.5:477-482.
Chavan NM, Kiran B, Jyothirmayi A, Phani PS, Sundararajan G. The corrosion behavior of cold sprayed zinc coatings on mild steel substrate. J Therm Spray Technol. 2013; 22(4): 463–70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-013-9893-z
Assadi H, Kreye H, Gärtner F, Klassen T. Cold spraying – A materials perspective. Acta Mater. 2016;116:382–407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat. 2016.06.034
Goyal T, Walia RS, Sidhu TS. Effect of parameters on coating density for cold spray process. Mater Manuf Process. 2012;27(2):193–200. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/10426914.2011.566906
Srikanth A, Basha GMT, Venkateshwarlu B. A brief review on cold spray coating process. Mater Today Proc. 2020; 22: 1390–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.01.482
Rokni MR, Nutt SR, Widener CA, Champagne VK, Hrabe RH. Review of relationship between particle deformation, coating microstructure, and properties in high-pressure cold spray. J Therm Spray Technol. 2017; 26:1308–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-017-0575-0
Assadi H, Gärtner F, Stoltenhoff T, Kreye H. Bonding mechanism in cold gas spraying. Acta Mater. 2003;51 (15):4379–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-6454(03)00274-X
Champagne VK, Helfritch DJ, Trexler MD, Gabriel The effect of cold spray impact velocity on deposit hardness. Model Simul Mater Sci Eng. 2010; 18(6). http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0965-0393/18/6/065011
Champagne V, Helfritch D. The unique abilities of cold spray deposition. Int Mater Rev. 2016;61(7): 437–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/09506608.2016.1194948
Schmidt T, Gärtner F, Assadi H, Kreye H. Development of a generalized parameter window for cold spray deposition. Acta Mater. 2006;54(3):729–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2005.10.005
Sharma MM, Eden TJ, Golesich BT. Effect of surface preparation on the microstructure, adhesion, and tensile properties of cold-sprayed aluminum coatings on AA2024 substrates. J Therm Spray Technol. 2015;24:410–22. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s11666-023-01585-3
Li CJ, Li WY, Wang YY. Formation of metastable phases in cold-sprayed soft metallic deposit. Surf Coat Technol. 2005;198(1-3):469–73. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2004.10.063
Legoux JG, Irissou E, Moreau C. Effect of substrate temperature on the formation mechanism of cold-sprayed aluminum, zinc and tin coatings. J Therm Spray Technol. 2007;16(5–6):619–26. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s11666-007-9091-y
Li WY, Li CJ, Yang GJ. Effect of impact-induced melting on interface microstructure and bonding of cold-sprayed zinc coating. Appl Surf Sci. 2010;257(5): 1516–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2010.08.089
Xie C, Li H, Zhou X, Sun C. Corrosion behavior of cold sprayed pure zinc coating on magnesium. Surf Coat Technol. 2019;374:797–806. https://doi.org/10. 1016/j.surfcoat.2019.06.068
Hussain T, McCartney DG, Shipway PH, Zhang D. Bonding mechanisms in cold spraying: The contributions of metallurgical and mechanical components. J Therm Spray Technol. 2009;18:364–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-009-9298-1
Seraj RA, Abdollah-zadeh A, Dosta S, Assadi H, Cano IG. Comparison of Stellite coatings on low carbon steel produced by CGS and HVOF spraying. Surf Coat Technol. 2019;372:299–311. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2019.05.022
Sudharshan Phani P, Srinivasa Rao D, Joshi S V., Sundararajan G. Effect of process parameters and heat treatments on properties of cold sprayed copper coatings. J Therm Spray Technol. 2007;16:425–34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-007-9048-1
Henao J, Concustell A, Cano IG, Cinca N, Dosta S, Guilemany JM. Influence of Cold Gas Spray process conditions on the microstructure of Fe-based amorphous coatings. J Alloys Compd. 2015;622: 995–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2014.11.037
Chafjiri ZS, Abdollah-zadeh A, Seraj RA, Azarniya A. Effect of cold spray processing parameters on the microstructure, wear, and corrosion behavior of Cu and Cu–Al2O3 coatings deposited on AZ31 alloy substrate. Results Eng. 2023;20:101594. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.rineng.2023.101594
Adachi S, Ueda N. Effect of cold-spray conditions using a nitrogen propellant gas on AISI 316L stainless steel-coating microstructures. Coatings 2017; 7(7): 87. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings7070087
Zahiri SH, Fraser D, Gulizia S, Jahedi M. Effect of processing conditions on porosity formation in cold gas dynamic spraying of copper. J Therm Spray Technol. 2006;15:422–30. https://doi.org/10.1361/ 105996306X124437
Chun DM, Choi JO, Lee CS, Ahn SH. Effect of stand-off distance for cold gas spraying of fine ceramic particles (< 5 μm) under low vacuum and room temperature using nano-particle deposition system (NPDS). Surf Coat Technol. 2012;206(8–9): 2125–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2011.09.043
Li WY, Zhang C, Guo XP, Zhang G, Liao HL, Li CJ, et al. Effect of standoff distance on coating deposition characteristics in cold spraying. Mater Des. 2008;29(2): 297–304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2007.005
Dai S, Cui M, Li J, Zhang M. Cold Spray Technology and Its Application in the Manufacturing of Metal Matrix Composite Materials with Carbon-Based Reinforcements. Coatings 2024;14(7):822. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings14070822
Tang J, Saha GC, Richter P, Kondás J, Colella A, Matteazzi P. Effects of Post-spray Heat Treatment on Hardness and Wear Properties of Ti-WC High-Pressure Cold Spray Coatings. J Therm Spray Technol. 2018;27 (7):1153–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-018-0762-7
Marzbanrad B, Toyserkani E, Jahed H. Characterization of single- and multilayer cold-spray coating of Zn on AZ31B. Surf Coat Technol. 2021;416: 127155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2021.127155
Khanbabaee Saatloo, M. H. , Abdollah-Zadeh, A. and Seraj, R. A. (2026). Effect of Gas Pressure and Stand-Off Distance on the Properties of Cold Sprayed Zinc on Steel Substrate. Journal of Advanced Materials in Engineering (Esteghlal), 44(Issue 2 (Serial Number 49)), 37-48. doi: 10.47176/jame.44.2.1084
MLA
Khanbabaee Saatloo, M. H. , , Abdollah-Zadeh, A. , and Seraj, R. A. . "Effect of Gas Pressure and Stand-Off Distance on the Properties of Cold Sprayed Zinc on Steel Substrate", Journal of Advanced Materials in Engineering (Esteghlal), 44, Issue 2 (Serial Number 49), 2026, 37-48. doi: 10.47176/jame.44.2.1084
HARVARD
Khanbabaee Saatloo, M. H., Abdollah-Zadeh, A., Seraj, R. A. (2026). 'Effect of Gas Pressure and Stand-Off Distance on the Properties of Cold Sprayed Zinc on Steel Substrate', Journal of Advanced Materials in Engineering (Esteghlal), 44(Issue 2 (Serial Number 49)), pp. 37-48. doi: 10.47176/jame.44.2.1084
CHICAGO
M. H. Khanbabaee Saatloo , A. Abdollah-Zadeh and R. A. Seraj, "Effect of Gas Pressure and Stand-Off Distance on the Properties of Cold Sprayed Zinc on Steel Substrate," Journal of Advanced Materials in Engineering (Esteghlal), 44 Issue 2 (Serial Number 49) (2026): 37-48, doi: 10.47176/jame.44.2.1084
VANCOUVER
Khanbabaee Saatloo, M. H., Abdollah-Zadeh, A., Seraj, R. A. Effect of Gas Pressure and Stand-Off Distance on the Properties of Cold Sprayed Zinc on Steel Substrate. Journal of Advanced Materials in Engineering (Esteghlal), 2026; 44(Issue 2 (Serial Number 49)): 37-48. doi: 10.47176/jame.44.2.1084