SBIR/STTR Award attributes
Modeling of hull structures is critical in the development of submergible vessel design. The primary objective of the Phase II effort is to demonstrate the overall process by which metal additive manufacturing can be used to fabricate a Navy steel powder into pressure vessel models that have detailed structural features, specified consolidated material properties, and dimensional tolerance levels that support experimental pressure vessel testing. The subobjective in the Phase II effort is to optimize pressure vessel model designs to be conducive to fabrication by an additive manufacturing process and have the design be able to withstand the associated heat treatment process necessary to obtain the required material properties. The Phase II effort also seeks to develop the strain measurement instrumentation and the procedures for testing the AM pressure vessel models. The proposed Phase II effort will investigate the use of large build bed powder bed melt additive manufacturing machines where the build volume exceeds 400mm cube. The machine parameters, support structures, and post-process parameters will be developed on smaller models and then conveyed to large build volume machine operators for larger models (380mm diameters and larger). The purpose of the overall effort is to develop a group of vendors able to respond to Navy request for additive manufactured pressure vessels.
