Five-axis ultrasonic additive manufacturing for nuclear component manufacture

Journal Article · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2016 · JOM. Journal of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-016-2205-6· OSTI ID:1337038

Hehr, Adam  ^[1]; Wenning, Justin ^[1]; Terrani, Kurt A. ^[2]; Babu, Sudarsanam Suresh ^[3]; Norfolk, Mark ^[1]

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1. Fabrisonic, LLC, Columbus, OH (United States)
2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
3. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)

Ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) is a three-dimensional metal printing technology which uses high-frequency vibrations to scrub and weld together both similar and dissimilar metal foils. There is no melting in the process and no special atmosphere requirements are needed. Consequently, dissimilar metals can be joined with little to no intermetallic compound formation, and large components can be manufactured. These attributes have the potential to transform manufacturing of nuclear reactor core components such as control elements for the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. These components are hybrid structures consisting of an outer cladding layer in contact with the coolant with neutron-absorbing materials inside, such as neutron poisons for reactor control purposes. UAM systems are built into a computer numerical control (CNC) framework to utilize intermittent subtractive processes. These subtractive processes are used to introduce internal features as the component is being built and for net shaping. The CNC framework is also used for controlling the motion of the welding operation. Lastly, it is demonstrated here that curved components with embedded features can be produced using a five-axis code for the welder for the first time.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
• Grant/Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1337038
• Journal Information: JOM. Journal of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, Journal Name: JOM. Journal of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society; ISSN 1047-4838
• Publisher: Springer
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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