Author

Elaina Walker

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Committee Chair

Judith Schneider

Committee Member

Nathan Spulak

Committee Member

Joseph Sims

Committee Member

Paresh Samantaray

Research Advisor

Judith Schneider

Subject(s)

Additive manufacturing, Dispersion strengthening, Copper alloys--Mechanical properties

Abstract

GRCop-42 is a dispersion strengthened copper alloy of interest due to its high thermal conductivity. Since it is fabricated as a powder, it is adaptable to powder based, metal additive manufacturing (AM) processing. The chromium-niobium additives phase separate from the copper matrix and form strengthening dispersoids during the gas atomization process used to produce the powder. This study looks at the effect of the powder based, laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) AM processing parameters on the resulting microstructure and mechanical properties. Builds were obtained from five different vendors, deposited using their best practice, for metallurgical and mechanical property evaluation. By comparing the size, morphology, and distribution of the dispersoids with the resulting mechanical properties, the consistency of the process across multiple platforms can be evaluated. This information is critical for establishing standards for the material properties in metal AM parts of GRCop-42.

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