Cold Spray Equipment for Research on Asset Life Extension and Fuel Efficiency
Abstract
Jeff Bradel - Office of Naval Research, Code 30 Abstract Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) respectfully submits this request for instrumentation funding for the acquisition of cold spray equipment to enhance and expand RIT’s ONR-funded additive manufacturing research to extend the life of military vehicles. Sustainment of military assets is imperative to provide personnel the equipment needed to safely and effectively execute their missions. While RIT’s research currently focuses on the Amphibious Assault Vehicle, this technology has broad application across other DOD ground and air platforms. Cold spray is an additive manufacturing process that uses a high-speed gas jet to accelerate powder particles toward a substrate whereby metal particles plastically deform and consolidate upon impact. This process, unlike many other additive manufacturing processes, uses lower process temperatures, enabling the process to form dense deposits with extremely low oxygen content, free of residual tensile stresses and grain growth. The cold spray process has the potential to repair cracked aluminum and cast iron castings and restore worn components to their original dimensions without degrading their mechanical or physical properties. The equipment will allow RIT to explore cold spray as an option for extending asset life through recapitalization or remanufacturing. Cold spray also has the ability to deposit low melting solid lubricants on wear surfaces, further enabling research to address fuel efficiency concerns, reduce maintenance requirements and increase reliability of legacy platforms through reduction of engine and drive train frictional losses. With this cold spray equipment, RIT researchers and graduate students will address both additive manufacturing technologies and fuel efficiency, advancing the logistics thrust of Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare & Combating Terrorism Department. The research will be applicable to the service life extension of approximately 1000 AAVs, as well as the potential to extend the technology to approximately 700 LAVs and over 5,000 M1A1 and M1A2 tanks in the USMC and Army fleets.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 12, 2016
- Source ID
- N000141512932
Entities
People
- Michael Haselkorn
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- United States Navy