SBO project: Functionally GRaded Additive manufacturing through closed-loop Directed Energy Deposition process control (GRADΞD)

Functionally Graded Additive Metals (FGAM) present an unseen design and manufacturing opportunity to fabricate components with spatially controlled material properties. Such components meet the most stringent requirements as local material specifications can be optimized. Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes are unique in the way they individually process each part of a component, making them the ultimate manufacturing technology to process Functionally Graded Materials (FGM).
GRADΞD targets the controlled manufacturing of FGAM by gradually altering the microstructure through 1) on-line phase control (thermal gradient/composition control), 2) grain size control (inoculant design/concentration) and 3) the creation of multimaterials by gradually altering the meltpool composition. A closed-loop thermal, geometrical and compositional laser-based Directed Energy Deposition (L-DED) process controller will be developed, based on multi-modal optical detection techniques, to ensure the desired processing conditions are met. Through a combination of spectroscopic sensors, not only the in-situ and real-time thermal monitoring of the melt pool is aspired, but also an accurate evaluation and adjustment of its elemental composition. The successful
processing of these novel metals is validated by a coupled computational and experimental approach, comprising thermodynamic calculations and multi-component phasefield simulations in combination with profound metallurgical and functional/mechanical characterization, (inoculant) powder optimization and interlayer optimization.
The real-time closed-loop melt pool control, assisted by non-invasive melt-pool monitoring techniques, alongside the in-depth understanding of the link between metallurgical features and mechanical/functional properties, will enable to surpass the quality and functionality of current FGAM by reducing defects while providing an unprecedented combination of material properties.