Trinity College Dublin announces that a team of its engineers is to lead a four-year, $565,000 European Space Agency (ESA) project to fine-tune cold spray technology for both coatings and additive manufacturing for space science missions. The goal is to develop new capabilities in coated materials, as well as to design multi-material combinations currently not possible.
Potential applications include, for example, the ExoMars, Juice, Euclid, and Solar Orbiter missions, as well as the James Webb Space Telescope, and the International Space Station. Meanwhile, on Earth, cold spray could improve the surface properties of engineering components and create novel multi-material parts. A number of national companies will collaborate with the Trinity team on the technical side of the project.
Leader of the project is Dr. Rocco Lupoi, Assistant Professor in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering in Trinity’s School of Engineering. “This is the largest ESA research project awarded to Trinity,” he says. “Not only will we bring down the cost of cold spray through the development of innovative solutions, but also we will enhance its technical capabilities for additive manufacturing.”
According to Prof. David Jarvis, Head of the Strategic and Emerging Technologies Team at ESA, “Once developed, the new form of cold spray manufacturing could unlock new capabilities in coated materials, as well as multi-material combinations currently not possible.”
