Fracture and Fatigue of 2xxx and 7xxx Aluminum Alloys Produced With Wire Arc-DED

The preferred alloys of aerospace aluminum are 2xxx and 7xxx series alloys. Big Metal Additive (BMA) currently produces and provides 2xxx aluminum products to customers. BMA has just been awarded a $5.4M NASA Tipping Point project that will qualify 2xxx aluminum material and process for spaceflight systems. Under the Tipping Point, BMA will also create a Materials Property Suite that includes a design allowables database for 2xxx aluminum. This NASA focused database has valuable information for Air Force applications, however it lacks sufficient fracture and fatigue (F&F) performance data critical to aircraft applications. There is significant interest in 7xxx aluminum produced with additive manufacturing for aerospace applications. BMA has 7xxx aluminum alloys in development. Fracture and fatigue performance data is traditionally the last type of data provided to customers. Under this project, we will begin our data collection with F&F data, removing the mystery and creating an opportunity to focus process development on improving F&F performance. The technical scope of this project is to measure the fracture and fatigue performance of 2xxx and 7xxx aluminum alloys produced with BMA additive manufacturing. The F&F performance data will be presented to Air Force stakeholders and customers while performing customer discovery to answer the questions: (i.) does the F&F performance meet expectations for Air Force applications?, (ii.) what additional testing and data are required to meet requirements of use?, and (iii.) what improvements to F&F performance are desired for Air Force applications? From these answers we will formulate a plan to improve F&F performance as necessary and collect required data as a Phase II project. BMA has identified specific applications with Air Force customers that will be targeted for discussion. The proposed program represents a meaningful alignment with Big Metal Additive (BMA) company strategy, centered on the continued commercialization of high-value multifunctional structural metal products. It also represents important amplification of previous funded efforts for producing aluminum aerospace components. BMA has strong relationships with AFRL and NASA experts who will be valuable stakeholders and collaborators to increase the network of stakeholders. Our vision is to have a factory with 100 machines producing parts for a range of commercial and DoD customers. BMA quickly produces complex metal products that replace difficult, time-consuming assemblies. We solve problems of lead time, cost, availability, and design sophistication.