Traditional thermal spraying methods repair damaged aerospace components by melting powdered alloys, but excessive heat often alters the underlying metal's microstructural integrity. To solve this, aerospace engineers increasingly utilize cold-spray additive manufacturing. This technique accelerates solid metal micro-particles through a supersonic nozzle using heated nitrogen or helium gas. Upon high-velocity impact with the component's surface, the particles undergo severe plastic deformation and bond mechanically without melting. Because the process operates well below the alloy's melting point, it prevents thermal degradation and oxidation, allowing structural repairs on flight-critical parts that previously required complete replacement.
Which of the following statements best summarizes the passage?
- AHeated carrier gases accelerate alloy particles through supersonic nozzles to clean flight-critical components.
- BModern additive manufacturing methods have eliminated structural wear across all industrial and aviation equipment.
- Cold-spray technology enables structural aerospace repairs by bonding metal particles through high-velocity kinetic impact, avoiding the heat damage caused by traditional melting methods.Answer
- DMelting metal powders remains necessary because cold-spray bonding cannot withstand operational stress on structural parts.