Development of Monitoring Techniques for Laser Powder Bed Additive Manufacturing of Metal Structures (Progress Report)

The Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR) program is leveraging additive manufacturing (AM) technologies to fabricate nuclear grade components to be assembled into a fully functional microreactor core. Compared to traditional manufacturing technologies, additive manufacturing technologies allow (1) observation of the manufacturing process at a much higher resolution in real time using in situ monitoring technologies to capture the sensor signature that scientifically describes each event occurring over time and space, and (2) validation of the manufacturing process quality using domain-informed data analytics techniques as a potential qualification and certification methodology for the final component. This report provides an update on the program work on laser powder bed fusion in-situ process monitoring and associated data analytics results. Examples are provided to illustrate the progress. Elements of the Digital Thread and data management are discussed in the main document, and an extensive supplemental material section is provided detailing the Digital Platform, as well as its implementation and components. In conclusion the path forward for the next fiscal year is discussed.