World class material

Purpose and goal

The aim of the project was to evaluate the possibility of creating new high performance materials by combining carbon fiber and additive manufacturing (AM) to a fiber reinforced metal composite (CFR-MMC). A combination of properties from fiber and metal would give the best of two worlds. The goal was to develop demonstrators in the form of smaller test pieces containing multiple layers of fiber/metal, a very important part of the context was to demonstrate good wetting of the fibers after exposure as this is an absolute prerequisite for a fiber composite regardless which matrix is used.

Expected results and effects

The project has succeeded with the task of showing the opportunity to obtain a good wetting. The result in this regard is of very good quality. The primary purpose of seeking to cast carbon fibers into a metal matrix has thus been fulfilled with clarity. A goal that has not been met is the manufacture of a physical demonstrator with multiple layers of fiber / metal. The main causes are the oxygen content in the metal powder (which oxidizes the fibers) and which does not disappear when using protective gas as well as the difficulty of practically handling and fixturing the fibers in the AM printer.

Planned approach and implementation

The project has been carried out step by step as it has been necessary to continuously deal with emerging difficulties and problems. Managing and fixturing fiber and metal powder during preparation and exposure has proved to be a major challenge. It has also been found that the oxygen content of the metal powder is high enough to be directly detrimental to the fibers during exposure. This has led to the use of zirconium in the experiments instead of the originally envisioned iron base alloy. A vacuum chamber has also been created with the aim to create the most inert environment possible.