Date of Award

3-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

First Advisor

Ryan A. Kemnitz, PhD

Abstract

The process of creating metal components through additive manufacturing is changing the way different industries can avoid the shortcomings of traditional metal production. Metals such as tungsten, molybdenum, and rhenium have many advantages for different applications, especially when alloyed together. In this study, an additively manufactured alloy containing 70% molybdenum, 25% tungsten, and 5% rhenium (70Mo-25W-5Re) is tested for its strength, ductility, hardness, and porosity. The 70Mo-25W-5Re alloy is printed through Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) under different conditions such as printing speed and printing atmosphere. Additionally, the effects of post printing heat treatment are conducted to understand the advantages to its property changes. The printed alloys are subject to flexural loading and its physical characteristics are tested and observed. The alloy is found to be stronger at slower printing speeds which corresponds to a greater input energy density. Additionally, heat treatments acted to improve strength but had little effect on porosity or hardness. The benefits of the 70Mo-25W-5Re alloy have a potential for real world applications due to its ease in production. The findings of this research demonstrated how readily alloys of these elements can be studied by leveraging additive manufacturing and post processing heat treatments. This technique will encourage research into different combinations of the constituent elements to find promising compositions in the alloy space.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENY-MS-22-M-276

DTIC Accession Number

AD1175499

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