Cold spray deposition of titanium on a complex metal substrate

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Industry partner

InfraBuild

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Research organisation

CSIRO

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Manufacturing investment

$463,881
($103,693 IMCRC)
for 2021-22

Developing more corrosion resistant steel fences

Challenge

Australian soils are rich in minerals which also make them highly corrosive. Paint and polymeric barrier coatings commonly used to protect steel fences often suffer from coating defects which allow water in and thus lead to underlying corrosion. InfraBuild seeks to advance its manufacturing processes and explore alternative coating options that allow them to produce more damage and corrosion resistant fencing products.

Proposed Solution

By combining cold spray additive manufacturing with CSIRO’s patented Cold Spray ZAP™ technology, InfraBuild aims to modernise the manufacture of its steel fencing products. In collaboration with CSIRO, InfraBuild intends to validate the potential of cold spray metal and metal composite coatings as a viable coating for highly corrosive soils.

As part of the project, CSIRO researchers will investigate how recycled titanium waste powder can be used to make damage and corrosion resistant steel posts.

Cold Spray ZAP™ is a solid state, low-cost additive technology that uses electrons sourced from electrical current to rearrange atomic structure, significantly improving density and flexibility of deposited titanium.

The project will also create the opportunity to develop a fully automated digital manufacturing production line using robotic coating application technology.