Niobium is one of the most important and rarest metals, and is used in the electronic and energy industries. However, it’s extremely high melting point and oxygen affinity limits the manufacture of Nb coating materials. Here, a Nb coating material is manufactured using a kinetic spray process followed by hot isotactic pressing to improve its properties. OM (optical microscope), XRD (X-ray diffraction), SEM (scanning electron microscopy), and Vickers hardness and EPMA (electron probe micro analyzer) tests are employed to investigate the macroscopic properties of the manufactured Nb materials. The powder used to manufacture the material has angular-shaped particles with an average particle size of 23.8 μm. The porosity and hardness of the manufactured Nb material are 0.18% and 221 Hv, respectively. Additional HIP is applied to the manufactured Nb material for 4 h under an Ar atmosphere after which the porosity decreases to 0.08% and the hardness increases to 253 Hv. Phase analysis after the HIP shows the presence of only pure Nb. The study also discusses the possibility of using the manufactured Nb material as a sputtering target.

Fe-based amorphous coatings were fabricated on a soda-lime glass substrate by the vacuum kinetic spray method. The effect of the gas flow rate, which determines particle velocity, on the deposition behavior of the particle and microstructure of the resultant films was investigated. The as-fabricated microstructure of the film was studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). Although the activation energy for transformation from the amorphous phase to crystalline phase was lowered by severe plastic deformation and particle fracturing under a high strain rate, the crystalline phases could not be found in the coating layer. Incompletely fractured and small fragments 100~300 nm in size, which are smaller than initial feedstock material, were found on the coating surface and inside of the coating. Also, some pores and voids occurred between particle-particle interfaces. In the case of brittle Fe-based amorphous alloy, particles fail in fragmentation fracture mode through initiation and propagation of the numerous small cracks rather than shear fracture mode under compressive stress. It could be deduced that amorphous alloy underwent particle fracturing in a vacuum kinetic spray process. Also, it is considered that surface energy caused by the formation of new surfaces and friction energy contributed to the bonding of fragments.

NiTiZrSiSn bulk metallic glass powder was produced using inert gas atomization and then was sprayed onto a SS 41 mild steel substrate using the kinetic spraying process. Through this study, the effects of thermal energy of in-flight particle and crystallization degree by powder preheating temperature were evaluated. The deformation behavior of bulk metallic glass is very interesting and it is largely dependent on the temperature. The crystalline phase formation at impact interface was dependent on the in-flight particle temperature. In addition, variations in the impact behavior need to be considered at high strain rate and in-flight particle temperature.