The impact processes of Ni particles at initial temperature of 900 K on Al, Cu and Steel substrates were numerically analyzed by using ANSYS/LS-DYNA. Initial kinetic energy of the particle dissipated to particle and substrate simultaneously, the proportion of which was defined as energy distribution coefficient (K). The K values for Ni/A1, Ni/Cu and Ni/steel combinations were approximated to 4, 0.4 and 0.1, respectively. Individual Ni60 particles were deposited experimentally onto 6061-T6 aluminum alloy, copper and 304 stainless steel by High Velocity Oxy-fuel (HVOF) spraying. The contact between Ni particles and three substrates was not perfect. The bonding ratio, which is the effective contact area divided by total area, for Ni/Cu combination is 55.41%, larger than those for Ni/A1 (40.78%) and Ni/steel (32.70%) combinations, indicating that moderate K value is beneficial for interface bonding between particle and substrate. (C) 2014 Elsevier BAT. All rights reserved.