STTR Phase I: Additive Manufacturing of High Conductivity- High Strength Copper-Based Alloys

这个小型技术转移研究（STTR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种可访问的，快速的，低成本的方法来发现和创造新的高性能合金;这些合金可能通过增材制造来定制特定的应用。 目前，合金开发和零件制造通常采用“一刀切”的方法，允许有限的合金定制。 在大多数情况下，为了提高性能而创造新材料，成本可能会过高。 金属增材制造打破了这种惯例，为制造小批量、利基零件创造了机会，但材料选择仍然有限。一种新的方法可以使一套专门的高性能合金直接扩展到功能部件，供各种规模的公司使用。该提案旨在开发必要的工具，并实施这种方法，以创建针对注塑行业的新型铜基合金，以显著缩短零件生产时间。这个小型技术转移研究（STTR）第一阶段项目将开发一种新型样品评估方法，以发现和创建用于基于激光的增材制造工艺的新型金属合金。 这项工作将利用低成本、快速的测试技术来评估实验室规模的合金化学成分，以便确定工艺-结构-性能关系，以便在增材制造框架中直接扩大规模。 化学选择将利用热力学建模和模拟，低成本测试试样生成，以及快速实验程序来模拟激光粉末床熔合中经历的热历史，从而减少实验时间线并直接反馈到工艺模型中以进行验证并提高准确性。 该方法将通过创建一种新型的铜基合金来验证，该合金具有比当前最先进的更高的强度和导热性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I project is to develop an accessible, rapid, low-cost method to discover and create new high-performance alloys; these alloys could potentially be tailored to specific applications by additive manufacturing. Currently, alloy development and part manufacturing often utilize a "one-size-fits-all" approach allowing for limited alloy customization. In most cases, where new materials are created to increase performance, costs can be prohibitive. Metal additive manufacturing disrupts such conventions, creating opportunities for manufacturing low-volume, niche parts, but still material options remain limited. A new approach could enable a suite of specialized high-performance alloys that directly scales to functional parts, for use by companies of all sizes. This proposal aims to develop the necessary tools and implement this approach to create a new copper-based alloy targeting the injection molding industry to significantly reduce part production times.This Small Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I project will develop a novel sample evaluation method to discover and create new metal alloys for laser-based additive manufacturing processes. The effort will utilize low-cost, rapid testing techniques to evaluate alloy chemistries on a laboratory scale so that the processing-structure-properties relationships can be determined for direct scale up in an additive manufacturing framework. The chemistry selection will utilize thermodynamic modeling and simulation, low-cost test coupon generation, and a rapid experimental procedure to simulate the thermal history experienced in laser powder bed fusion, allowing for both reduced experimentation timelines and direct feedback into process models for validation and improving accuracy. The method will be validated by creating a novel copper-based alloy with improved strength and thermal conductivity over the current state-of-the-art.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.