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Completed TRL 6 (started at 4, targeting 6)
In-space manufacturing is a key enabling capability for establishing long-duration human presence on the Moon. To support this goal, researchers at West Virginia University are investigating Particle-Based Foam Spraying in Microgravityto combine a cold spray process with 3D printing. The work aims to advance the state of the art of 3D printing in space by strengthening and/or extending the in-service lifetime of preexisting 3D-printed structures to reduce mission costs.
Problem Statement With low density and high mechanical strength, ceramic foams have great potential for numerous applications—from radiation shielding to filtration and from photocatalysis to energy storage or heat exchange. Ceramic foam inks can also be combined with direct-write techniques, opening a new route for manufacturing previously unattainable complex, hierarchical, 3D structures of multifunctional materials with no material waste.
Technology Maturation 3D direct spraying is a key method for manufacturing parts with controlled properties and to cover large substrates, so researchers plan to study spray deposition of foamed model inks in microgravity. They will be stabilized by solid particles loaded into syringes and then sprayed to coat rigid substrates. Flight testing will enable study of fundamental particle-particle interactions as well as final assembly in microgravity.
Summary of Flight Test
2021-11-16 The West Virginia University Microgravity Research Team flew their nozzle-based microemulsion and cold-spray deposition systems on a parabolic aircraft flight provided by the Zero Gravity Corporation on November 16 and 17, 2021. The microemulsion sprayed formulations were based on TiO2 whereas the cold 3 spray experiment used Cu particles sprayed on aluminum substrates. This was the seventeenth student team from WVU to develop and fly an experiment aboard a microgravity research aircraft. Successful microemulsion printing data were obtained during the flight and are currently being analyzed.
2022-05-16 The West Virginia University Microgravity Research Team flew their nozzle?based microemulsion foam spray and cold?spray Zn particle deposition systems on parabolic aircraft flights provided by the Zero Gravity Corporation on May 16 and 17, 2022. The microemulsion sprayed formulations were based on TiO2, whereas the cold spray experiment used Zn particles sprayed on Mg substrates. This was the eighteenth student team from WVU to develop and fly an experiment aboard a microgravity research aircraft. Successful 4 microemulsion spray deposition data and cold spray deposition were obtained under microgravity conditions during the second flight and are currently being analyzed.
In-space manufacturing is a key enabling capability for establishing long-duration human presence on the Moon. To support this goal, researchers at West Virginia University are investigating Particle-Based Foam Spraying in Microgravity to combine a cold spray process with 3D printing. The work aims to advance the state of the art of 3D printing in space by strengthening and/or extending the in-service lifetime of preexisting 3D-printed structures to reduce mission costs. This would benefit NASA missions, the commercial space industry, other government agencies, and the nation.
Future Customers
•Radiation shielding, tool manufacturing, and repair for crewed lunar and planetary missions
•Repair of 3D-printed solar cells, photocatalytic filters, and bio-cell scaffolds
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