About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Additive Manufacturing of Refractory Metallic Materials
|
| Presentation Title |
Mixing refractory metals of different melting temperatures in direct energy deposition |
| Author(s) |
Anthony Stair, Logan Maurer, Alex Meyers, Jon Malen, Bryan Webler, Jack Beuth, Maarten P. De Boer |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Maarten P. De Boer |
| Abstract Scope |
Direct energy deposition is a preferred method for mixing refractory metals to fabricate a desired alloy. However, the melting of the higher temperature material powder particles and the degree of mixing are issues that are not well understood. Niobium and tantalum are miscible, have widely different melting temperatures (2500 and 3000 ⁰C, respectively), similar coefficients of thermal expansion (6.3 and 7.3 µε/K at RT, respectively) and unlike other refractories are each ductile well below room temperature. Nb density is half that of other common refractories, making it a promising high strength-to-weight ratio material for high temperature applications. However, when Ta powder is deposited on a Nb baseplate, incomplete melting and compositional bands enriched in each metal are observed. We have hypothesized and verified processing conditions that enable complete melting of Ta particles and complete mixing of Ta and Nb. In-situ two-color imaging provides temperature data supporting our methodology. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Additive Manufacturing, High-Temperature Materials, Mechanical Properties |