Surface Engineering for Advanced 3D Printed Airframe Materials

航空航天工程的最新进展包括增强的空气动力学设计和先进材料的使用。该项目的重点是先进材料及其耐用性，但也使这些材料作为测试结构，验证空气动力学设计的使用。更具体地说，我们将研究用于风洞测试的3D打印部件。这些部件经常因“机库皮疹”而损坏，这是正常操作造成的表面相关损坏。为了克服这一点，零件将电镀薄金属涂层。一系列的测试和表征将被完成，以评估几个候选涂层在粘结强度、耐刮擦性和表面光洁度方面的有效性。总之，该项目还将检查工艺变量对涂层性能和有效性的影响。这项研究的影响将是增加用于风洞测试的3D打印结构的耐用性，从而节省成本和减少对环境的影响。其次，这项研究将有助于理解3D打印零件所需的表面工程，这些零件最终可能用于真正的航空航天应用。

Recent advances in aerospace engineering involve both enhanced aerodynamic design and use of advancedmaterials. This project focuses on advanced materials and their durability but also enables use of thesematerials as test structures for validating aerodynamic designs. More specifically, we will study 3D printedparts that will be used for wind tunnel testing. These parts are often damaged from 'hangar rash' that issurface-related damage from normal handling. To overcome this, the parts will be electroplated with thinmetallic coatings. An array of testing and characterization will be done to evaluate the effectiveness of a fewcandidate coatings in terms of their bond strength, scratch resistance and surface finish characteristics.Altogether, the project will also examine the effect of process variables on the properties and effectiveness ofthe coatings. The impact of this research will be increased durability of 3D printed structures used for windtunnel testing, leading to cost savings and less environmental impact. Secondly, this research will have benefitof understanding surface engineering required for 3D printed parts that may eventually be used in a realaerospace application.