DED (Direct Energy Deposition) Processing of Tank Structures

MT Aerospace has performed several R&D studies of additive manufacturing titanium material with the direct energy deposition method with target of net shape manufacturing of

• hemispheres for propellant and high pressure tanks
• optimized (bionic) structures for tank interfaces in hybrid or integral solutions

Compared to powder based processes, the DED process offers advantages in process stability and defect minimization. Based on MT Heritage now a study under ESA contract has started to optimize the process until industrialization:

• process adaption & optimization to the geometry configuration of the two component definitions
• evaluation of in situ process control / NDI
• evaluation of material characteristics for flight hardware demonstration

As a second part of this ESA study, two potential aluminum candidate alloys will be selected with the goal of suitability of the DED process. Candidate selection includes new interesting alloys which have been recently developed.