Multi-material additive manufacturing : characterisation of the copper-aluminium system

Details

Supervisors

Jacques, Pascal ; Hilhorst, Antoine ; van der Rest, Camille

Faculty

Ecole polytechnique de Louvain

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur civil en chimie et science des matériaux, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

Metal additive manufacturing (AM) is gaining increasing recognition as an effective technique for manufacturing intricate structures. The potential implementation of multi-materials in AM would enable the production of complex components with diverse functional properties of the materials used. A new technology developed and patented by Aerosint has opened up a new realm of optimised structures and materials by enabling the simultaneous printing and forming of parts using two or three different material powders. However, further work is required to establish rules governing the compatibility of the constituent materials. In this work, the metallurgical compatibility of the copper-aluminium system is assessed. A method was developed and assessed to establish a reliable connection between the back-scattered electron grey scale images obtained from scanning electron microscopy and the actual elemental composition. The method successfully achieved enhanced spatial resolution and higher throughput for the characterisation of the composition.