The main objective of the coordinated project “High-performance aerospace components manufactured by Graphene Reinforced cordierite 3D printing” aka AERORECORD 3D is to obtain prototypes for strategic sectors such as aerospace, by 3D printing pellets of technical ceramics, in particular cordierites (Mg,Fe)2Al4Si5O18 of different composition, reinforced with reduced graphene oxide (rGO). These ceramic matrix composites (CMC) combine industrially relevant properties such as high thermal shock resistance, good mechanical properties and relevant dielectric properties. The addition of graphene is intended to maximise these mechanical properties, especially bending and impact strength, as well as to evaluate its influence on their electromagnetic, thermal and electrical conductivity properties.
Additive Manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing (3DP) involves a series of processes that result in the production of a part, layer by layer. In this way, it is possible to manufacture complex geometries never before conceived by conventional processes, allowing an optimisation of the use of raw materials. The production of these ceramic composite materials employing AM is very novel both for the use of cordierites and for the addition of graphene as reinforcement since up to now some processes have been described for other technical ceramics of higher cost, however, lower thermal shock resistance such as alumina, zirconia or silicon carbide. At the end of the project, new mixtures of graphene-reinforced cordierite will have been optimised, defining printing and design parameters, validating and obtaining a final part or prototype for Aerospace application with complex geometry using the pellet-3D printing system developed.
The project will benefit from the high expertise and dedicated facilities of Universidad de Castilla la Mancha (UCLM) and National Institute for Aerospace (INTA), leading institutions of the project. Besides, it counts on the collaboration of different partners supporting key tasks for achieving the project’s goals. The project in a nutshell is subdivided into two interrelated sub-projects with specific goals and tasks to achieve the main project’s objectives.
This subproject will focus on the manufacture of high performance ceramic components by Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes using 3D Printing, which is proposed as a driving force to expand the use of these materials in various industrial applications in which they still present great limitations, but to which they could bring great advantages. The high demand in the aerospace industry for ceramic components with complex and lightweight structures, high strength and multiple functionalities, together with the possibility of introducing successive design modifications and producing short and customized series, position AM as one of the solutions to meet these major challenges. The development of graphene-reinforced cordierite composites by AM will allow obtaining components that maximize thermal shock resistance by combining better conductivity with a low coefficient of thermal expansion, improvements in strength and toughness, remarkable functional properties and it will be possible to obtain lightweight and complex structure designs not achievable by other advanced ceramic materials or other processing techniques.
The coordinated work between the UCLM and INTA groups will address from the design of the raw material to the production of components with complex designs (UCLM) and the complete characterization of their behavior by means of advanced experimental techniques and simulation (INTA), which will allow their transfer to the aerospace sector.
To achieve the objectives of the coordinated project, this subproject will study the effect of the addition of increasing amounts of graphene, the degree of dispersion in the ceramic matrix and its influence on the rheological and thermomechanical properties of the printable mixtures to ensure proper processing by 3D printing. Finally, subproject 1 (UCLM) will carry out an exhaustive analysis of the dimensional and geometrical control as a function of the processing parameters.
INTA will be responsible for the microstructural and physicochemical characterisation and the determination of the mechanical, electrical and electromagnetic properties of the prototypes obtained by 3D printing to validate the production process as a whole, from the parameters for obtaining the printable mixtures to the printing parameters and characteristics of the printed parts. Furthermore, in collaboration with UCLM, INTA will characterise the graphene used as reinforcement to study the influence of its addition and dispersion in the ceramic composite. Finally, it will be responsible for the definition, design and validation using finite element analysis (FEA) simulation of a prototype for application in the aerospace sector to identify the advantages of additive manufacturing in contrast to traditional manufacturing methods and materials.
