LENS repair and modification of metal NW components:materials and applications guide.
- Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA
- BWXT Y-12
- Savannah River National Laboratory
- Kansas City Plant
Laser Engineered Net Shaping{trademark} (LENS{reg_sign}) is a unique, layer additive, metal manufacturing technique that offers the ability to create fully dense metal features and components directly from a computer solid model. LENS offers opportunities to repair and modify components by adding features to existing geometry, refilling holes, repairing weld lips, and many other potential applications. The material deposited has good mechanical properties with strengths typically slightly higher that wrought material due to grain refinement from a quickly cooling weld pool. The result is a material with properties similar to cold worked material, but without the loss in ductility traditionally seen with such treatments. Furthermore, 304L LENS material exhibits good corrosion resistance and hydrogen compatibility. This report gives a background of the LENS process including materials analysis addressing the requirements of a number of different applications. Suggestions are given to aid both the product engineer and the process engineer in the successful utilization of LENS for their applications. The results of testing on interface strength, machinability, weldability, corrosion resistance, geometric effects, heat treatment, and repair strategy testing are all included. Finally, the qualification of the LENS process is briefly discussed to give the user confidence in selecting LENS as the process of choice for high rigor applications. The testing showed LENS components to have capability in repair/modification applications requiring complex castings (W80-3 D-Bottle bracket), thin wall parts requiring metal to be rebuilt onto the part (W87 Firing Set Housing and Y-12 Test Rings), the filling of counterbores for use in reservoir reclamation welding (SRNL hydrogen compatibility study) and the repair of surface defects on pressure vessels (SRNL gas bottle repair). The material is machinable, as testing has shown that LENS deposited material machines similar to that of welded metal. Tool wear is slightly higher in LENS material than in wrought material, but not so much that one would be concerned with increased tooling cost. The LENS process achieved process qualification for the AY1E0125 D-Bottle Bracket from the W80-3 LEP program, and in the effort, also underwent testing in weapons environments. These tests included structural dynamic response testing and drop testing. The LENS deposited parts were compared in these tests with conventionally machined parts and showed equivalency to such an extent that the parts were accepted for use in parallel path subsystem-level weapon environment testing. The evaluation of LENS has shown that the process can be a viable option when either complete metal parts are needed or existing metal parts require modification or repair. The LENS Qualification Technology Investment team successfully investigated new applications for the LENS process and showed that it has great applicability across the Nuclear Weapons Complex as well as in other high rigor applications.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 902564
- Report Number(s):
- SAND2006-6430; TRN: US200718%%83
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Laser engineered net shaping (LENS) for the repair and modification of NWC metal components.
On the interface between LENS deposited stainless steel 304L repair geometry and cast or machined components.
Related Subjects
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
CASTINGS
COMPATIBILITY
COMPUTERS
CORROSION RESISTANCE
DEFECTS
ENGINEERS
GEOMETRY
GRAIN REFINEMENT
HEAT TREATMENTS
HYDROGEN
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
MODIFICATIONS
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
PRESSURE VESSELS
REPAIR
TESTING
WEAPONS
WELDABILITY
WELDING