Direct Additive Recycling (DAR) of Secondary Feedstocks for Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Point-of-Need Manufacturing

In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) for terrestrial and non-terrestrial manufacturing requires incremental steps towards the desired end-state of using secondary feedstocks for low-power manufacturing and repair. Therefore, this works summarizes an experimental and computational investigation on the solid-state processing of two secondary feedstock waste streams: (1) manufacturing chips and (2) waste metal stacked strips in leu of discarded materials (cannibalization of battle-damaged components at forward operating bases or descent stages and expired artificial satellites) via Additive Friction Stir Deposition (AFSD), a Direct Additive Recycling (DAR) approach. X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) analyses shows fully-dense depositions while isotropic mechanical behavior is observed in large test articles. Furthermore, the in-depth experimental datasets characterizing microstructure, residual stresses, and mechanical performance are being used to develop multiscale computational models for predicting material performance. The fundamental understanding compiled on this study could serve as the groundwork to transition AFSD from a ground-based AM technology to a potential on-orbit and planetary manufacturing, repair, and recycling technique.