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Pressure-assisted binder jetting for additive manufacturing of mock energetic composites
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Pressure-assisted binder jetting for additive manufacturing of mock energetic composites

Levi Kirby, H. S. Udaykumar and Xuan Song
Propellants, explosives, pyrotechnics, Vol.49(1), e202300175
01/2024
DOI: 10.1002/prep.202300175
url
https://doi.org/10.1002/prep.202300175View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) has emerged as a promising approach to achieve energetic materials (EMs) with intricate geometries and controlled microstructures, which are crucial for safety and performance optimization. However, current AM methods still face limitations such as limited densities and inadequate solids loading. To overcome these limitations, we have developed a pressure-assisted binder jet (PBJ) process that has the potential to allow for the fabrication of intricate EMs while preserving their desired properties. This study aims to investigate the effects of printing parameters on the microstructures and properties of EMs, including density, solids loading, mechanical properties, and heterogeneity. Our results demonstrate that the PBJ process achieves exceptional properties in EMs, including densities up to 83.4 % and solids loading up to 95.4 %, surpassing those achieved by existing AM processes. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of the fabricated EMs are comparable to those achieved using conventional fabrication techniques, including a compressive strength of 3.32 MPa, a Young's modulus of 16.68 MPa, a Poisson's ratio of 0.45, a shear modulus of 5.73 MPa, and a bulk modulus of 21.01 GPa. Various test cases were printed to showcase the ability of the PBJ process to create EMs with complex structures and exceptional properties. Micro-computed tomography was employed to analyze the influence of printing parameters on the internal composition and microstructures of the printed specimens. image
additive manufacturing density microstructure polymer-bonded energetic materials solids loading UIOWA OA Agreement

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