Advanced cold spray system

An apparatus which comprises:

• (a) a housing;
• (b) an inlet for a gas entrained powder;
• (c) an inlet for a gas;
• (d) a mixing cavity disposed within said housing for mixing of said powder and gas in communication with said inlets, said cavity having an exit therefrom;
• (e) a nozzle holder having a tapered cylindrical bore centrally disposed therethrough,
• (i) said nozzle holder removably attached to said housing with a fastening means;
• and
• (f) a nozzle comprising at least two halves and having a centrally disposed bore therethrough,
• (i) said nozzle bore having a constriction at last partway through said bore,
• (ii) said nozzle bore in communication with said mixing cavity exit at an inlet end of said nozzle bore,
• (iii) said nozzle positioned within said bore of said nozzle holder, an interior taper of said nozzle holder bore essentially matching an exterior taper of the nozzle.

An apparatus which comprises:

• (a) a housing;
• (b) an inlet for a gas entrained powder;
• (c) an inlet for a gas;
• (d) a mixing cavity disposed within said housing for mixing of said powder and gas in communication with said inlets, said cavity having an exit therefrom;
• (e) a nozzle holder having a cylindrical bore centrally disposed therethrough,
• (i) said nozzle holder removably attached to said housing with a fastening means;
• and
• (f) a nozzle insertable at least partway into said nozzle holder and in frictional engagement therewith,
• (i) said nozzle bore having a constriction at last partway through said bore, and
• (ii) said nozzle bore in communication with said mixing cavity exit.

A process for cold spraying which comprises:

• (a) feeding at least one gas into a preheat stream and at least one gas into a powder transfer stream;
• (b) heating at least a portion of the at least one gas in the preheat stream to a temperature greater than an initial temperature at a location which is remote from a cold spray nozzle and in communication with said cold spray nozzle via a flexible conduit;
• (c) transferring at least a portion of a powder into the powder transfer stream;
• (d) mixing the powder in the powder transfer stream with at least a portion of the gas in the preheat stream to form a high temperature powder gaseous stream;
• (e) feeding the high temperature powder gaseous stream into said nozzle for impingement onto a substrate with at least a portion of the high temperature powder gaseous stream.