THE IMPACT OF A STATIC-MIXING NOZZLE ON UNIFORMITY IN MATERIAL EXTRUSION LARGE-SCALE ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
- ORNL
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK)
There are many methods of incorporating more than one material in Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes. Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a unique solution that enables in-situ material switching by developing a dual-hopper feed system for Cincinnati’s Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) system. Continuous extrusion during a step-change in material feedstock results in a unique blended material transition region that exhibits a heterogeneous internal morphology. To improve mixing of materials during extrusion, a customized static-mixing nozzle was created for use with the BAAM. Single-bead transitions from Material A to B and B to A were printed with the mixing nozzle at a specified screw speed. Compositional analysis tracked the progression of the material transition as a function of extrudate volume. The resulting transition curves were compared against a standard nozzle configuration. Optical microscopy of cross sections also demonstrated that the static-mixing nozzle promoted a more uniform bead geometry as well as a more homogeneous internal structure throughout the material transition.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1875346
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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