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NASA Marshall Space Flight Center · ER13

Metal Additive Manufacturing & Materials Characterization

Characterizing NASA-developed alloys and L-PBF engine components to understand how post-processing methods change real performance, not just theoretical properties.

MaterialsGRX-810, GRCop-42
ProcessLaser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF)
RoleCharacterization lead, test stand design
StatusOngoing

Overview

NASA has developed high-performance alloys like GRCop-42 and GRX-810 specifically for use in engine components, but understanding how they behave after additive manufacturing and various post-processing steps is its own body of work. I've spent a significant part of my role on that characterization, along with building the physical test infrastructure needed to run it.

What the work covers

  • Test stand design. Built a physical test stand to evaluate L-PBF engine components made from GRX-810 across different post-processing conditions.
  • Characterization studies. Designed studies covering burst testing, lattice analysis, and material property optimization for pre- and post-processed parts.
  • Post-processing methods evaluated. Chemical milling, chemical-mechanical polishing, chemical polishing, thermal energy method, micromachining polishing, and abrasive flow machining.