Periodic Reporting for period 1 - topAM (Tailoring ODS materials processing routes for additive manufacturing of high temperature devices for aggressive environments)
Período documentado: 2021-01-01 hasta 2022-06-30
Europe’s industry is facing many challenges such as global competition and the big change towards energy and resource efficiency. topAM contributes to these demands by development and application of novel processing routes for new oxide-dispersoid strengthened (ODS) alloys on FeCrAl, Ni and NiCu basis. Novel ODS materials offer a clear advantage for the process industry by manufacturing e.g. topology-optimized, sensor-integrated high temperature devices (gas burner heads, heat exchangers) that are exposed to aggressive environments. Alloy and process development will be targeted by an advanced integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) approach combining computational thermodynamics, microstructure and process simulation to contribute to save time, raw materials and increase the component’s lifetime. Physical alloy production will be realized by combining nanotechnologies to aggregate ODS composites with laser-powder bed fusion and post-processing. The ICME approach will be complemented by comprehensive materials characterization and intensive testing of components under industrially relevant in-service conditions. This strategy allows to gain a deeper understanding of the process-microstructure-properties relationships and to quantify the improved functionalities, properties and life cycle assessment. This will promote cost reduction, improved energy efficiency and superior properties combined with a significant lifetime increase. The consortium consists of users, materials suppliers and research institutes that are world leading in the fields relevant for this project. The industrial project partners, in particular the SMEs, will achieve higher competitiveness due to their strategic position in the value chain of materials processing, e.g. powder production, to strengthen Europe's leading position in the emerging technology field of AM in a unique combination with ICME.
At first, processing and application conditions for industrial gas burner heads and heat exchangers were defined. The specification sheets include the requirements and improvements (as compared to currently used materials) for the novel ODS alloys under service conditions. Starting with three commercially available alloy compositions (FeCrAl, NiCrAl, and NiCu), a benchmark was established by comprehensive mechanical, corrosion and thermophysical testing. The powders were provided by the material manufacturers, and specimens were produced by additive manufacturing (AM) using laser powder-bed fusion (LPBF). A cross-disciplinary ICME approach has been employed, and an ICME framework is being developed, to enable the physics-based descriptions of process-structure-property-performance linkages for the accelerated development of novel ODS alloys. In a first step, the process limitations of the different powder modification methods were understood which enabled for a preliminary compositional design of the three FeCrAl, NiCrAl, and NiCu ODS alloy systems. Specifically, the type, size and volume fraction of nanoparticles were defined based on their effect on the materials properties. Subsequently, the powders were modified by (in situ) internal oxidation/nitridation, freeze granulation and mechanical alloying. A large test matrix was developed in order to understand the mechanisms underlying the different modification methods and allow for precisely setting the desired nanoparticles. For each of the alloy systems, promising modification parameters were found. In the next step, test specimens will be printed with the modified powders and the effect of the nanoparticles on the properties will be evaluated and used to validate the models of the ICME framework. Apart from the alloy composition design, a time-efficient and scalable component design has been performed to integrate the advantages in geometrical freedom from AM. Utilizing combined structural topology optimization and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques has shown an acceleration of the component design of around 20 times for a simple 2D problem (as is the case in the current stage of the project).
On the way to achieving the main impact factors, namely (i) energy efficiency improvement of the target production and/or operation processes of at least 30%, (ii) reduction of CO2 emissions and resource utilisation by 20%, and (iii) increased lifetime of the equipment by at least 20%, topAM has already produced significant output with regard to reaching the expected impact.
During the first 18 months of the project, a precise selection of nanoparticles (oxides/nitrides) for enabling increased materials properties, which in turn serve for an increased lifetime and consequently CO2 savings, has been done by using the ICME framework. The fundamentals for printing ODS-containing alloys were set. For instance, the extensive material reusability of the NiCu alloy applied in the project allows for a significant reduction of resource utilization and material waste. Also, optimization of process parameters and investigation of the alloy’s microstructure led to a reduction in porosity and more resilient geometries, eventually leading to the goal of lifespan enlargement. An increase of competitiveness for the SME partners due to strategic position in the value chain of materials processing was achieved. For instance, in the case of gas atomization, by development of process parameters for gas atomization of ODS alloys and for in-situ internal oxidation of alloys during gas atomization. Two processing routes for powder modification, freeze granulation and internal oxidation/nitridation in a fluidized-bed reactor, were significantly further developed and the principles were understood better allowing to extend the methodology to other alloy systems. Thorough characterization of the standard alloy systems (without ODS) was used to confirm the impact of AM on the investigated materials properties, e.g. high-temperature corrosion behavior. Furthermore, it provides valuable knowledge towards the chemical and processing industries being able to adopt AM solutions for their high-temperature and corrosive environment applications. With the Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) sensor integrated component design, it is now possible to monitor the component performance over a continuous length as opposed to only point measurements with other sensors. This will provide a good assessment of the component during service and will positively impact resource utilization during maintenance and downtime of the plant. Consequently, by tailoring of alloy compositions, processing parameters, and component geometry, the novel alloys are predicted to exhibit increased corrosion and mechanical and, therefore, increased lifetime of the component as well as allowing for increased operational temperature and increasing efficiency.
Dissemination of the project’s initial results has been ongoing through participation in different conferences, focused primarily on alloy design, AM of the baseline alloys and initial mechanical and corrosion properties. Collaboration with the CEM-WAVE project (Horizon 2020 SPIRE project) and other international projects (e.g. MONDO-FE, USA) allows for constant discussion and classification of topAM results. Project communication has been occurring through many different avenues, including: press releases, websites, social media (Twitter, LinkedIn), briefings, meetings, and the project’s first summer school.
During the first 18 months of the project, a precise selection of nanoparticles (oxides/nitrides) for enabling increased materials properties, which in turn serve for an increased lifetime and consequently CO2 savings, has been done by using the ICME framework. The fundamentals for printing ODS-containing alloys were set. For instance, the extensive material reusability of the NiCu alloy applied in the project allows for a significant reduction of resource utilization and material waste. Also, optimization of process parameters and investigation of the alloy’s microstructure led to a reduction in porosity and more resilient geometries, eventually leading to the goal of lifespan enlargement. An increase of competitiveness for the SME partners due to strategic position in the value chain of materials processing was achieved. For instance, in the case of gas atomization, by development of process parameters for gas atomization of ODS alloys and for in-situ internal oxidation of alloys during gas atomization. Two processing routes for powder modification, freeze granulation and internal oxidation/nitridation in a fluidized-bed reactor, were significantly further developed and the principles were understood better allowing to extend the methodology to other alloy systems. Thorough characterization of the standard alloy systems (without ODS) was used to confirm the impact of AM on the investigated materials properties, e.g. high-temperature corrosion behavior. Furthermore, it provides valuable knowledge towards the chemical and processing industries being able to adopt AM solutions for their high-temperature and corrosive environment applications. With the Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) sensor integrated component design, it is now possible to monitor the component performance over a continuous length as opposed to only point measurements with other sensors. This will provide a good assessment of the component during service and will positively impact resource utilization during maintenance and downtime of the plant. Consequently, by tailoring of alloy compositions, processing parameters, and component geometry, the novel alloys are predicted to exhibit increased corrosion and mechanical and, therefore, increased lifetime of the component as well as allowing for increased operational temperature and increasing efficiency.
Dissemination of the project’s initial results has been ongoing through participation in different conferences, focused primarily on alloy design, AM of the baseline alloys and initial mechanical and corrosion properties. Collaboration with the CEM-WAVE project (Horizon 2020 SPIRE project) and other international projects (e.g. MONDO-FE, USA) allows for constant discussion and classification of topAM results. Project communication has been occurring through many different avenues, including: press releases, websites, social media (Twitter, LinkedIn), briefings, meetings, and the project’s first summer school.