Mechanical responses and anisotropy in cold sprayed and additively manufactured materials are being probed from nanometric to macroscopic length scales using picoindentation, nanoindentation, DMA, and macro-scale testing techniques as a function of temperature.

Researchers at ColRAD Laboratory are probing the mechanical responses of cold sprayed, wire arc additively manufactured materials at various length scales using a wide arsenal of tools.

Dynamic Mechanical Analysis reveals the bulk macroscopic behavior of coatings in their elastic regime from room to elevated temperatures. Damping energy losses, storage and loss modulus can be probed in materials that show hierarchical microstructural features. It helps design materials that undergo repetitive dynamic exposure to harsh operating conditions.

Nanoindentation provides unique knowledge about the local mechanical characteristics such as modulus and hardness of minute microscopic features. A breadth of knowledge at the micrometer to nanometer length scales can be analyzed by this technique that includes elastic modulus and nanohardness. High resolution 2 dimensional maps depicting the distribution of modulus over microstructural areas provide insight into the heterogeneity of these materials.