Innovative Processing Techniques for Additive Manufacture of 7000 Series Aluminum Alloy Components

Naval aircraft components are routinely made of 7000 series aluminum alloys due to their strength, weight and fatigue properties. Present Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes fall short of producing 7000 series Al alloys successfully due to lack of porosity, and thermal and composition control. In-situ methods implemented to date largely only yield information about the component surface and other more advanced techniques capable of inspecting sub-surface have been tested ex-situ, but are yet to be integrated. Throughout the Phase I, tasks have been carried out to develop a proof of concept for a noble AM process. In Phase II, to fully develop the novel AM process, the following challenging tasks are proposed: (1) Improvement of the patented Smart Optical Monitoring System (SOMS) accuracy and calibration methodology in composition and chemistry characterization, (2) Design, optimization, and implementation of an in-process monitoring/control system with SOMS, (3) Perform coupon level testing, in accordance with ASTM E8, (4) Fully characterize the resulting mechanical properties and non-destructive inspection to verify microstructural properties, such as grain size and orientation, achieved through the AM process, (5) Demonstrate the capability of printing geometrically accurate aircraft components with complex geometry, per pre-existing tolerances, and verified by a laser scan.