$800,000 from U.S. Army for University of North Texas 3D Printing Research

Dr. Herman Shen, head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of North Texas (UNT), and associate professor Dr. Hector Siller have received an $800,000 research grant from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory.

The research is on the laser-based additive manufacturing process called powder bed fusion. In this process, metal parts are built up layer by layer using a laser and powder, similar to 3D printing.

“Submarine or aircraft carriers go out to sea for up to six months sometimes,” Shen said, “If they need repairs, they can’t just easily call someone to send the parts. They have to build their own.”

To speed up manufacturing, the military is interested in powder bed fusion. However, parts made with laser-based powder bed fusion can be riddled with defects, Shen said. So he wants to find out where the defects form first by exploring the process in reverse. Shen’s team will look at the final product and examine it for defects or deformations in the parts. Artificial intelligence will then be used to determine where the defect may have occurred during manufacturing.

Siller and his research team will look at the process as a whole. They will analyze manufacturing plans, microstructure assessments and monitoring processes to get an overall picture and suggest improvements.

“We will have feedback from that performance, reform the methods and then have a closed loop of improvement,” Siller said.

The research will span four years and is intended to support the manufacture of important machine parts for the military.

“Aerospace components will most likely be made using this technology in the future,” said Siller. “It’s able to fabricate complex shapes such as turbine blades or engine parts. The nature of this research is to make sure those parts are reliable.”

The grant, funded by the Army Research Office, is the result of a performance competition conducted under the direction of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. Its goal is to improve the capabilities of minority-serving institutions such as UNT and Historically Black Colleges and Universities in conducting defense research. The Army Research Office is a directorate of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Research Laboratory.