Additive Manufacturing of Stainless-Steel Nanocomposites
Abstract
Additive manufacturing of stainless-steel nanocomposites is one potential method for creating hydrophobic metallic surfaces to mitigate corrosion. Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a 3-D printing method utilized to print metallic components including 316L stainless-steel (SS). LPBF was used to print composites of 316L SS and graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) with varying volumetric concentrations. The print energy density parameters for the LPBF process were also varied to investigate potential differences in print quality. To assist in the printing process, the printed material was baked in between print sessions to prevent moisture accumulation or premature particle adhesion. In addition to researching the hydrophobicity of these printed surfaces, samples were polished to a smooth surface to test the hydrophobicity when surface roughness is not a key factor. Through material characterization including sessile water-drop contact angle measurements, optical profilometry, and SEM microscopy, it was determined that the addition of GNP particles enhanced the hydrophobicity of the as-printed samples while additionally showing encouraging improvements to the hydrophobic tendencies of polished samples. Trends suggest that further improvements to the hydrophobicity of 3-D printed samples could be reached with increased GNP concentration or the addition of another nanomaterial with hydrophobic tendencies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1213592
Entities
People
- Michael L. O'donnell
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School