Smart in-situ X-ray-based probing system for novel additively manufactured products and materials

增材制造（AM或3D打印）是一种先进的制造技术，它使用计算机辅助设计逐层构建物体。常见的金属增材制造技术在激光的辅助下进行材料融合，其中金属粉末被熔化和固化以形成设计的固体物体。增材制造材料的一些机械性能，如屈服强度（材料永久变形的应力）已被证明可以通过增材制造工艺得到改善；然而，可用的增材制造工艺通常会降低失效特性，如失效应变和疲劳寿命。必须了解这些复杂的过程，以改善增材制造材料的失效特性，并开发具有优化寿命的新型材料，以用于极端应用，如阿尔伯塔省的恶劣天气。在这个为期两年的项目中，我们提出开发一种用于金属合金增材制造的智能软件辅助系统，以及一种新型的高重复率x射线诊断系统，用于探测增材制造过程中的缺陷形成，并帮助开发新材料。这项工作将使用激光驱动器产生的硬x射线来探测以不同速率，方向和温度打印的样品，以优化生成坚固的AM产品和使用人工智能技术开发新材料的过程。这项工作的商业化成果是双重的：开发用于优化致密材料的x射线探测的硬件系统，以及开发用于控制和生产一致，可靠和全新的3D打印产品的自动化智能软件。在2年的时间里，该项目将为AM、材料、编程和光学科学等高度市场化领域的8名高素质人才提供培训机会，并有可能在硬件和软件开发方面产生衍生公司。

Additive manufacturing (AM or 3D printing) is an advanced manufacturing technique that uses computer-aided design to build objects layer by layer. Common AM techniques for metals are assisted by laser power for material fusion, where metal powders are melted and solidified to form the designed solid object. Some mechanical properties of AM materials such as yield strength (the stress at which a material permanently deforms) have been shown to improve with AM processes; however, failure properties such as strain-at-failure and fatigue life are generally reduced by the available AM processes. It is imperative to understand these complex processes to improve the failure properties of AM materials and enable the development of novel materials with optimized lifetime for utilization in extreme applications, such as harsh weather in Alberta. With this two year project, we propose the development of an intelligent software-aided system for additive manufacturing of metallic alloys coupled with a novel high-repetition-rate X-ray diagnostic system for probing defect formation during the AM process and aiding the development of novel materials. This work will employ hard X-rays generated by a laser driver to probe samples printed at different rates, orientations, and temperatures to optimize the process for the generation of robust AM products and novel material development using Artificial Intelligence techniques. The commericalizable outcomes of this work are two-fold: development of a hardware system for optimized X-ray probing of dense materials, and the development of automated intelligent software for the control and production of consistent, reliable, and entirely novel 3D printed products. Over the course of 2 years, this project will provide opportunities for training of eight highly qualified personnel in highly marketable areas of AM, materials, programming, and optical science with the potential for spin-off companies in both hardware and software development.