Additive Manufacturing of Advanced Metallics

OUSD (R&E) MODERNIZATION PRIORITY: Space; Hypersonics TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Materials OBJECTIVE: Demonstrate additive manufacturing of metallic materials for hypersonic flight systems. DESCRIPTION: This topic seeks innovative additive manufacturing processes to produce metallic components that increase both availability and reliability of metallic materials for use in hypersonic flight vehicles. The extreme operational environment that hypersonic flight vehicles experience requires structural components that are capable of withstanding high temperatures and loads. Development of material and manufacturing technology for advanced metallic components is applicable for the development of hypersonic flight systems to include both threat test targets and missile defense systems, with the intent of overcoming the current availability and manufacturing deficiencies for producing aerospace grade materials of specific alloys that have high strength and high temperature resiliency. Evaluation criteria for proposed material solutions include thermal expansion, thermal conductivity, specific heat, and strength assessments that show performance equivalent to or exceeding that of current material solutions that use traditional manufacturing approaches such as casting or forging. These materials should show the ability to perform in structural and thermal conditions representative of operation in the hypersonic flight environment. The Inconel family of alloys is the performance baseline for proposed high temperature high strength materials. Proposed material solutions should provide consistent and quality components that can survive in high temperature environments. Additionally, additive manufacturing approaches will show enhanced performance and a decrease in manufacturing costs by enabling near net shape fabrication and reducing production timelines. PHASE I: Demonstrate the technical feasibility of the proposed materials approach. Provide technical demonstration that material solutions are viable in hypersonic environments via material properties and analysis. Develop test plans to demonstrate manufacturing design parameters and ground testing of components. Develop manufacturing and quality approach for full-scale sized components. PHASE II: Actively demonstrate the innovative material approach by manufacturing subscale coupons of materials for laboratory and ground testing. Evaluate material performance in hypersonic relevant environments via analysis and testing. Conduct manufacturing assessments to determine statistical parameters of quality and repeatability. Provide the Government with preliminary cost and schedule projections of material components compared to the current state-of-the-art. PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Demonstrate use of full-scale components in hypersonic environments. Develop full-scale manufacturing capabilities providing data on quality and reliability of components. Provide full-scale cost assessments for production. REFERENCES: Materials and structures for hypersonic vehicles Darrel R. Tenney, W. Barry Lisagor, and Sidney C. Dixon Journal of Aircraft 1989 26:11, 953-970 Byron Blakey-Milner, Paul Gradl, Glen Snedden, Michael Brooks, Jean Pitot, Elena Lopez, Martin Leary, Filippo Berto, Anton du Plessis, Metal additive manufacturing in aerospace: A review, Materials & Design, Volume 209, 2021, 110008, ISSN 0264-1275, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2021.110008. KEYWORDS: Additive Manufacturing; Advanced Materials; Advanced Metallics; Hypersonics