A Comprehensive Feasibility Study on Gas-Atomized Feedstock Generated from Reclaimed Materials for Rapid Repair Applications.

Massar, Christopher

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A Comprehensive Feasibility Study on Gas-Atomized Feedstock Generated from Reclaimed Materials for Rapid Repair Applications.

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A three-phased approach was undertaken to understand the implications of using metallic feedstock powder for metal additive manufacturing processes and cold spray deposition, which were generated from reclaimed materials, as compared to their additive manufacturing grade and commercially available counterparts. In the first phase, a case study based on inertly gas-atomized feedstock produced from battlefield scrap, specifically stainless steel 304/316, demonstrated successful deposition through cold spray processing, with enhanced suitability for cold spray through thermal preprocessing of the powder prior to cold spray additive manufacturing. The second phase focused on capturing the sustainability of using inertly gas-atomized powder produced using reclaimed materials in a generalized and broadened scope. As part of phase two, commonly utilized metal additive manufacturing alloyed and pure feedstocks including Al 6061, commercially pure Cu, Inconel 718, stainless-steel 17-4 PH, and Ti-6Al-4V, were investigated. The final phase considered a novel metal additive manufacturing-based approach to fabricating gas-atomized FeMnAl-C feedstock using the same gas-atomization system to process the recycled materials; thus, generating a novel feedstock powder with potential reclamation applications for in-theater armored vehicular repair to better support the warfighter. This final phase resulted in a proof-of-concept and demonstrated that in-theater recovery of armored components could be successfully reclaimed or repaired, recycled via gas-atomization at the point of need, and used in structural cold spray repair applications.

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