---
title: "Bridging the future with cold spray additive manufacturing"
url: https://www.voxelmatters.com/bridging-the-future-with-cold-spray-additive-manufacturing/
date: 2025-06-15
modified: 2025-06-15
lang: en
author: "Edward Wakefield"
description: "According to the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst), cold spray additive manufacturing was successfully used in a first-of-its-kind bridge repair demonstration in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The pilot project took..."
categories:
  - "AM Research"
  - "Architecture"
  - "Metal Additive Manufacturing"
tags:
  - "future"
image: https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/NEWS-Gerasimidis-Bridge-PJ4A1573.jpeg
word_count: 337
---

# Bridging the future with cold spray additive manufacturing

[According to the University of Massachusetts Amherst](https://www.umass.edu/news/article/can-3d-printing-help-repair-nations-aging-bridges-umass-amherst-researchers-use-great) (UMass Amherst), cold spray additive manufacturing was successfully used in a first-of-its-kind bridge repair demonstration in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The pilot project took place on the 'Red Bridge' (formerly the 'Brown Bridge'), a structure from 1949, and was led by UMass Amherst in collaboration with MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.

[Cold spray additive manufacturing involves propelling](https://www.voxelmatters.com/rice-university-students-build-low-cost-cold-spray-metal-3d-printer/) powdered steel through compressed gas at high velocity, layering the material onto corroded sections to rebuild thickness and structural integrity. This technique, commonly used in industries such as aerospace and naval engineering, had never been previously applied to bridges.

“Now that we’ve completed this proof-of-concept repair, we see a clear path to a solution that is much faster, less costly, easier, and less invasive,” said Simos Gerasimidis, UMass Amherst associate professor and project lead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7TcKb28nOw
[Bridges across the US](https://www.voxelmatters.com/3d-printing-a-self-supporting-bridge-inspired-by-da-vinci/) are in dire need of maintenance - 49% are rated 'fair' and 6.8% 'poor,' according to the 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. In Massachusetts, 9% of bridges require urgent repairs, yet funding falls short. Cold spray could offer a scalable, less disruptive solution, allowing repairs without halting traffic. “This will allow us to [apply the technique] on this actual bridge while cars are going [across],” said Gerasimidis.

The team also employed [3D LiDAR scanning](https://www.voxelmatters.com/hexagon-completes-acquisition-of-geomagic-from-3d-systems/) to precisely identify damage and create digital repair plans. “By combining scanning with precise material deposition, we can be very targeted… and give this bridge another 10 years of life,” said Gerasimidis.

MassDOT, the US Department of Transportation, and MassTech supported the effort. Equipment was funded by the Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative, with the goal of advancing the commercialization of cutting-edge repair technologies.

The bridge is scheduled for demolition in a few years, after which UMass will retrieve the repaired beams for lab testing to assess field performance versus lab results. “This is a tremendous collaboration,” said [John Hart, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT](https://www.voxelmatters.com/vulcanforms-appoints-new-ceo-and-president/). “We’re just at the beginning of a digital transformation of bridge inspection, repair, and maintenance.”