Additive manufacturing of a nickel supper alloy: The micromechanics of plasticity and fracture.

To reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, significant efforts have been made to increase the efficiency of gas turbines. Likewise, the use of hydrogen is suggested to replace hydro-carbon-based fuels. To achieve these goals, it is mandatory to use advanced manufacturing techniques to produce the key components of turbines. Laser power bed fusion additive manufacturing (LPBF-AM) is one of those techniques that can be used for 3D printing of Inconel supperalloys, however, the development of microcracks reduce the lifetime of the components. The objectives of this project are to determine AM process parameter to reduce such cracks and understand their subsequent effects on the development of localized stress fields. An advanced numerical toolbox will be developed to simulate the propagation of microcracks. The outcome of the project will help provide a better estimation of components lifetimes which will eventually improve the economy of power production from gas turbines.

Faculty Supervisor:

Hamidreza Abdolvand

Student:

Partner:

Siemens Energy Canada

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Information and cultural industries; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

The University of Western Ontario

Program: