Test and Evaluation of Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing (UAM) for a Large Aircraft Maintenance Shelter (LAMS) Baseplate
Abstract
Additive manufacturing is an exciting new manufacturing technology that could have application to Air Force Civil Engineer (CE) operations. This research replicates a Large Area Maintenance Shelter (LAMS) baseplate design for ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM). Due to production problems the test section was not built as designed. Instead, a smaller block of material was submitted for evaluation. After the UAM build, ultrasonic inspection was conducted to identify anomalies in the test piece. The results of this proof of concept study indicate that UAM is not yet ready for CE expeditionary applications requiring a high degree of mechanical strength. The machine failed to build a baseplate of the same dimensions as would be required for use in the field. Further, the test specimen produced using UAM had a substantial number of anomalies throughout the entire y-axis of orientation. As the technology continues to improve, UAM may produce welds of sufficient strength to support expeditionary structural applications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 26, 2015
- Accession Number
- ADA615546
Entities
People
- Daniel H. Gartland
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology