Cambridge Develops Laser-Assisted Cold Spray Technique with Potential for Aerospace Applications

The Centre for Industrial Photonics (CIP) at the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) has developed a new technology: laser-assisted cold spray (LACS). The team claims LACS is an improvement over existing cold spray technologies. They have also demonstrated LACS’ effectiveness in aerospace applications.

Prior to developing the new method, the IfM team used nitrogen as a carrier gas for the powder. Then, they realized that when working with high-strength materials such as titanium and aluminium alloys, using helium was essential for achieving optimal deposition. Project leader Professor Bill O’Neill explained, “This is because helium, because of its lower molecular weight, enables higher particle velocities in cold spray, enhancing impact energy and improving adhesion to the substrate.”

However, using helium posed a problem: it costs around £80 per minute of operation, and even state-of-the-art recycling efforts recovered only around 85% of the helium. Additionally, the recycling equipment greatly restricted the size of the parts that could be manufactured, as they had to fit within a size-limited chamber for capturing excess helium. The researchers knew they needed to find a more realistic solution than a helium recycling system, so they started to investigate lasers.