Failure process and mechanism of cold spraying repaired cast ZM6 alloy plates under in-plane loading

Cold spraying (CS) exhibits outstanding advantages in repairing damaged cast magnesium alloy components. However, the mechanical property recovery of the repaired components, particularly in the plane of CS repair, remains unexplored. In this study, a trapezoidal groove defect was prefabricated on the parallel section of the dog-bone specimen, and the crack propagation behavior of CS repaired ZM6 substrate with aluminum matrix composites (AMCs) was observed using a digital image correlation (DIC) system. The failure process and mechanisms of CS repaired samples under in-plane loading were revealed. An optimal ceramic content (20 vol% Al 2 O 3 ) was identified in the AMCs, which transfers stress concentration from the notch (on the damaged ZM6 substrate) to the interface (between the CS repair area and the ZM6 substrate), avoiding premature failure of the CS repair samples. This work provides guidance for reasonably selecting CS repair materials and controlling the prefabricated defect size to restore the damaged components.