Additively Manufactured Functional Gradient in Complex Systems, New Approach to Join Dissimilar Materials

It is often difficult to join materials with different properties. However, additive manufacturing provides a platform to develop new and innovative methodologies for joining dissimilar materials. A multi powder feeder LENS system provides the ability to develop functional metallic gradients by directly melting together different elemental powders. The transition from one material to another holds challenges: brittle phases and mismatched lattices can cause cracking or even failure. Traditionally, only linear paths were used to avoid these brittle phases, but in a large multi variable space a linear path is not always feasible. Therefore, we have developed a non-linear path in multi-variable space that allows for the avoidance of brittle phases. Specifically, this research focuses on the avoidance of the brittle phase in the steel to aluminum system, as well as in a steel to tungsten system.