Structures Uniquely Resolved to Guarantee Endurance (SURGE)

Background
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative proposals to rethink and accelerate distributed additive manufacturing of critical structural parts. The Structures Uniquely Resolved to Guarantee Endurance (SURGE) program aims to develop methods to predict part life directly from data collected during additive manufacturing (AM) in a way that is transferable across disparate machines, materials, locations, and geometries. The program seeks to merge in-situ sensing technologies, process modeling, and microstructure-based fatigue life methods to quantify the useful life of manufactured hardware. The goal is to enable revolutionary advances in distributed AM capability.

Grant Details
The SURGE program will explore the convergence of in-situ sensing technologies, process modeling, and microstructure-based fatigue life methods to predict the life of additively manufactured metallic parts in real time. It will involve the development of a standalone AM data collection scheme, modeling methods to generate a defect and microstructure twin (DMT) based on the data collected during manufacturing, MBL predictions executed on the DMT quantifying expected test coupon life with estimated uncertainty, and experimental validation testing to prove DMT and MBL model accuracy. The program will also explore initial transferability of developed methods across different feedstocks and machines.

Eligibility Requirements
Multiple awards are anticipated for this program. Eligible applicants include organizations with expertise across necessary disciplines capable of addressing all required areas such as sensor technology, process modeling, material science, and additive manufacturing. Proposals must demonstrate a detailed technical approach that is innovative, feasible, achievable, and complete. The proposed technical team should have the expertise and experience to accomplish the proposed tasks.

Period of Performance
The SURGE proposals must be structured as a 24-month Phase 1 base with an option for a 24-month Phase 2 effort. Phase 1 will focus on fundamental method development and experimental validation while Phase 2 will apply developed methods to complex parts, demonstrate transferability, and drive stakeholder transition.

Grant Value
The total value of the grant is not specified.