Russian Scientists Improve 3D Printing Technology for Aerospace Composite Materials

The research was conducted by scientists from the National Research Technological University MISIS in cooperation with their colleagues from the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

A team of scientists from the Russian National Research Technological University MISIS (NUST MISIS) have managed to improve the technology for alumina 3D printing, which helps increase the hardness of materials by at least one and a half times.

The study titled “In-situ synthesis and characterisation of powdery nanocomposite carbon nanotubes/nanoalumina” was published in the journal Composites Communications.

In the research, MISIS scientists pointed to the development of a special nano carbon additive that makes it possible to improve the quality of 3D-printed aerospace composite materials.

Gromov referred to carbon nanofibres with high thermal conductivity, which he said adds to minimising “temperature gradients between printed layers during the synthesis of products, at the selective laser melting stage”.

Currently, alumina 3D printing is mainly used to produce high-tech parts for the aviation and space industries. Given that the presence of even the slightest of defects in printed structures being critical to the safety of equipment, MISIS’s alumina 3D printing-related development is certainly of great importance.

The study was carried out jointly with specialists from the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

In the future, NUST MISIS’s research team plans to determine the optimal conditions for selective laser melting of new composite powders, as well as to develop a technology for post-processing and industrial use of synthesised products.

Sourse: sputniknews.com