Manufacturing and Measurements of 3D-Printed Porous Structures

Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) proposes pre-standardization research to qualify the performance of materials used in the additive manufacturing of porous structures. ACT uses 316L SS and the LPBF process to print porous structures, which result from intentional lack of fusion defects. Printable porous structures have numerous applications, such as in filtering, energy storage, or in ACT’s case, heat transfer. ACT uses the porous parts as the wick structure in Loop Heat Pipes (LHPs), specifically for spacecraft thermal control. The technology is now at a TRL of 6, with a TRL of 7 to be reached in the Spring of 2025. To further advance the TRL, it is necessary to conduct prestandardization research to qualify the feedstock's performance, which is the first step in developing flight qualification standards. In Phase I, ACT proposes to characterize how feedstock parameter variations influence the wick structures' performance. Additionally, ACT proposes to develop a method of measuring powder shedding from the structure, resulting from poorly sintered powder from the printing process.