Project Team
Students
Jimmy Yang
Mechanical Engineering
Brandywine
Faculty Mentors
Aaron Rape
Brandywine
Engineering
Project
Project Video
Project Abstract
With the exponential growth of additive manufacturing being used in part fabrication, surface cladding, and part restoration, ensuring a consistent and controlled flow of powder in Direct Energy Deposition has never been more important in ensuring process quality and efficiency. An economical and simple approach is through the use of a gravity-driven conveyance system. The goal of the study focuses on developing components such as the hopper (reservoir) and nozzle to address the issue of inconsistent powder flow found in gravity-based systems due to ratholing and arching. Through calculations and flowability experiments of stainless-steel powder in hoppers of different geometries, angles, and nozzles of different outlet sizes, it was found that hoppers with a steep angle improve powder flow, prevent clogging, ensure uniform distribution, and have a lower mass flow rate compared to a gradual angle. The gradual angles were found to have a higher mass flow rate but also flow issues such as ratholing, arching, and pulsing. The conical hopper shape was deemed to be the most reliable with a consistent relationship between an increase in angle and an increase in mass flow rate and the other way around. The simple and economical gravity conveyance system presents a practical solution to enhance powder handling in DED, with potential applications across diverse manufacturing sectors, crucial for meeting the growing demands of modern manufacturing.
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