Master’s thesis "The influence of powder granulometry on mechanical and fatigue properties of aluminum deposited by cold spray" by Filip Wick was awarded the Best diploma thesis in the "Structures and Technologies" category of this year’s 30th annual competition organized by the Zvoníček Foundation at CTU Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.
Filip is now a PhD student and from September of this year also an employee of our institute,
carrying out his research within the Materials Engineering department. His awarded thesis was
supervised by Jan Čížek from the same department, IPP and Ondřej Kovařík from FNSPE, CTU, and
focuses on the application of cold spray technology in the field of additive manufacturing (CSAM)
for producing geometrically and functionally demanding aerospace components. Despite the
significant potential of this technology, there is still a lack of comprehensive studies
investigating the fracture-mechanic and fatigue properties of components manufactured using this
method.
The experimental part of the research was conducted using pure aluminum samples produced at
the partner institution Helmut-Schmidt University in Hamburg using three different size fractions
of the input powder. The fatigue properties of the samples were tested using a unique device
developed at IPP and FNSPE in Prague. The study's findings provide valuable insights into the
influence of powder particle size on the fatigue and fracture-mechanical properties of components
manufactured by the CSAM method, contributing significantly to a deeper understanding of the
behavior of these unique materials.
26 Nov 2024
