Additive Technologies Help Create a New Super Alloy of Bronze and Steel
A group of scientists from the Skolkovo Innovation Center claims that they have developed a fundamentally new alloy of steel and bronze using 3D printing. They utilized the method of direct laser deposition to manufacture various products from this unique metal combination. The team achieved the desired results through different approaches: first, they melted the bronze and steel together and applied this mixture to a surface via spraying.
In another method, the materials were deposited sequentially rather than mixed. Scientists believe that this innovative technology could find applications in the aerospace industry, particularly for creating combustion chambers for aircraft and rocket engines.
Why Combine Bronze and Steel?
The combination of two different materials is a common practice in 3D printing, allowing manufacturers to take advantage of the best qualities of each component. A prime example of this is composite material printing, a rapidly growing field in modern 3D technology. In the case of bronze and steel, these materials were chosen due to their complementary properties.
- Bronze is well-known for its corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and electrical conductivity.
- Steel, on the other hand, is prized for its mechanical strength, electrical resistance, and overall rigidity.
This project has successfully produced an innovative alloy, previously unknown to science, thanks to the capabilities of additive manufacturing.
The Laser Deposition Process
To bring this project to life, the research team at Skolkovo used direct laser deposition technology (also known as directed material deposition). The scientists first created a nearly homogeneous alloy by uniformly mixing molten bronze and steel. This mixture was then used to produce a series of sample products.
Another technique involved applying alternating layers of each material—0.25 mm thick—to the surface of the components. The scientists experimented with varying the proportion of bronze (from 25% to 50%), while the amount of steel remained consistent.
Advancing Aerospace Applications
Professor Igor Shishkovsky noted that additive technologies are ideally suited for producing composite components that combine the best properties of each material. In this specific alloy, steel contributes to heat resistance, which is crucial for its potential use in aircraft and rocket engines.
Meanwhile, bronze offers excellent thermal conductivity, making it effective in cooling engine parts and preventing overheating. This alloy combines these advantages, resulting in a truly innovative combustion chamber design: bronze on the inside for better heat control and steel on the outside for structural strength and rigidity.
Success and Future Prospects
The research conducted by Skolkovo specialists showed that the fusion of these two materials through additive manufacturing was successful, without significant defects or anomalies. To confirm this, the team conducted extensive tests on the key properties of the new alloy and examined it using electron and optical microscopes.
Beyond the alloy’s characteristics, an important takeaway is its full compatibility with the direct laser deposition printing method. This opens up broad possibilities for its application not only in the aerospace sector but also in many other industries.
The scientists’ next goal is to develop turbine blades from the reinforced superalloy with bronze cooling channels, taking advantage of bronze and steel’s strengths while minimizing their individual weaknesses.
