Mesostructure design of additively manufactured interpenetrating phase composites

We recently developed a simple two-step approach for making net-shaped metallic composites and functionally graded components. In the first step of this approach, selective laser melting is used to fabricate a lattice preform. Next, this preform is liquid metal infiltrated with a second material that has a melting point lower than that of the reinforcement. The resulting materials are periodic interpenetrating phase composites in which the two constituents form continuous networks. This talk will summarize our efforts to design and fabricate interpenetrating phase composites with optimized thermal and mechanical properties. Using periodic homogenization theory, we develop structure-property linkages for these composites that show how the topology of the constituents and residual processing defects like porosity affect the thermal conductivity and yield strength.