The use of cold spray for the mitigation of stress corrosion cracking in Alloy 600 and its weld materials was investigated through a variety of tests. The testing has included stress corrosion cracking initiation tests and salt spray tests, but has also included mechanical property characterizations including tensile, hardness, and fatigue testing, as well as subjecting sample coatings to thermal shock, impact, and bend testing.
The results of these tests all indicate positively that cold spray is capable of producing robust coatings with the ability to mitigate stress corrosion cracking. Further work has demonstrated the benefits of cold spray over other deposition techniques and in many cases weld repairs, along with the ability to utilize cold spray deposits to make leak-tight repairs and successfully repair reactor components. Innovation of the cold spray application process and substrate/ deposit combinations allow for further comprehension of cold sprays’ abilities. These characterization and materials testing results provide insight to the vast capabilities of cold spray for both nuclear and non-nuclear applications.