Improvement of tensile strength of cold sprayed Fe deposits via in-process powder preheating

•The effect of preheating on the tensile property of deposits was firstly reported.•The tensile strength of Fe deposits prepared with preheated powder nearly doubled.•In-process powder preheating can effectively strengthen cold sprayed deposits. Cold sprayed Fe deposits were manufactured with non-preheated and preheated powders, respectively. The microstructure of the deposits was characterized by electron backscattered diffraction. The tensile property of the deposits was then evaluated. The results show that the preheated Fe powder deforms more extensively than the non-preheated powder during cold spraying due to their thermal softening. The ultimate tensile strength of the deposits made with preheated powder approximately doubles to 109.42 ± 50.56 MPa due to the enhanced intersplat bonding. However, the deposits in both cases exhibit poor ductility. The increased dislocation density and the nano-sized oxides on the preheated powder surface are considered to be the cause of low ductility of the deposits fabricated with preheated powder.