Polymer cold spray has gained considerable attention
as a novel
manufacturing process. A promising aspect of this technology involves
the ability to deposit uniform polymer coatings without the requirements
of solvent and/or high-temperature conditions. The present study investigates
the interplay between shear instability, often considered to be the
primary mechanism for bond formation, and fracture, as a secondary
energy dissipation mechanism, collectively governing the deposition
of glassy thermoplastics on similar and dissimilar substrates. A hybrid
experimental-computational approach is utilized to explore the simultaneous
effects of several interconnected phenomena, namely the particle–substrate
relative deformability, molecular weights, and the resultant yielding
versus fracture of polystyrene particles, examined herein as a model
material system. The computational investigations are based on constitutive
plasticity and damage equations determined and calibrated based on
a statistical data mining approach applied to a wide collection of
previously reported stress–strain and failure data. Results
obtained herein demonstrate that the underlying adhesion mechanisms
depend strongly on the molecular weight of the sprayed particles.
It is also shown that although the plastic deformation and shear instability
are still the primary bond formation mechanisms, the molecular-weight-dependent
fracture of the sprayed glassy polymers is also a considerable phenomenon
capable of significantly affecting the deposition process, especially
in cases involving the cold spray of soft thermoplastics on hard substrates.
The strong interplay between molecular-weight-dependent plastic yielding
and fracture in the examined system emphasizes the importance of molecular
weight as a critical variable in the cold spray of glassy polymers,
also highlighting the possibility of process optimization by proper
feedstock selection.