Researchers have been able to produce an extremely strong 3D-printed titanium pressure vessel.
The work done at the Korea Additive Manufacturing Innovation Center (KAMIC) attempted to 3D print a titanium (Ti64) 640mm diameter spherical tank for use in aerospace and space applications.
Printing a titanium sphere is not a big deal; many organizations can do so. However, can they produce a vessel that can withstand enormous pressures? Aerospace applications typically would require these vessels to hold cryogenic fuel, such as methane or liquid oxygen, at extremely high pressures. That’s quite an engineering challenge, whether you’re 3D printing the vessel or not.
In this case, they succeeded. Their test vessel was lowered to -196°C and was able to hold an astounding 330 bar pressure. That’s literally 330X the standard atmospheric pressure. They say it is the first time this level of cryogenic pressure has been achieved with a 3D printed vessel.
They produced the vessel by using DED metal 3D printing, where a robotic arm deposits molten material. Their approach was to produce two halves of the sphere, which were then heat treated and machined to a smooth finish. Finally, the two halves were welded together to form the complete vessel.
That series of steps is quite a bit less time than is required to obtain a similar vessel using conventional approaches. The method devised by the researchers could certainly shorten the supply chain for this type of exotic aerospace part.
The work also suggests there are more usage barriers to be broken, which might lead to increased metal 3D printing applications.
Via KAMIC
