Cold Spray Repair Technology for Reactive Metals

PROJECT COST:

335 521 $

PRIMA CONTRIBUTION:

143 309 $

PROJECT DETAILS:

This project constitutes the next phase following a recent patent application by Hatch Ltd., in collaboration with McGill University and Memorial University of Newfoundland, focused on the repair of ball valves. The underlying technology has already been developed, investigated, and achieved a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 3 in prior studies. The present project is essential for advancing this technology further and addressing key anticipated challenges to transition the work toward deployable products and services. These challenges include optimizing the cold spray process for curved surfaces, quantifying and mitigating residual stresses, developing reliable methods to assess coating adhesion on complex geometries, and demonstrating the feasibility of repairs on actual ball valve components used in metallurgical reactors.

While this project does not directly generate new business, its research activities will provide advanced training for three PhD students and support Hatch and Polycontrols in advancing this technology to a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6. Achieving this level of technological maturity will facilitate the eventual deployment and commercialization of the repair process.

Furthermore, Hatch and Polycontrols will benefit from the development of cold spray technology and its associated material supply chain, enabling these repairs to be carried out domestically in Canada—particularly in Quebec—rather than relying on materials sourced from foreign suppliers.