1© 2014 Lockheed Martin Corporation. All Rights Reserved

Additively Manufactured Vents for NASA’s Orion Exploration Flight Test 1

Andrew Clifton, Lockheed Martin

Roger Taylor III, Lockheed Martin

Alex Fima, RTI Directed Manufacturing

AeroMat 2015

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Outline

• Introduction to Orion Exploration Flight Test 1• Design overview• Part characterization• Conclusions

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Orion Exploration Flight Test 1

• Launched December 5, 2014

• Completed two orbits

• Max altitude 3,600 miles

• Re-entry at 20,000 mph with heat shield seeing up to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit

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Orion EFT-1 After Landing

Vent locations

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Part Details

• Purpose: – Venting of unpressurized

locations– Screen for foreign object

debris

• Features– Integral mesh (20 x 20, ~

50% open area, ~ 0.036 inch wide openings)

– Three mounting feet– Additional screens

welded on Integral mesh (in black)

Additional screens

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Manufacturing Process

• Made using Powder Bed Metal Laser Sintering process by Directed Manufacturing (Austin, TX)– Powder: Alloy 718 from Carpenter – Laser sintered– EOS M270 system, 200 watt laser, argon

purge• Stress relief, hot isostatic pressing, solution

heat treating, and aging were performed similar to ASTM F3055, Class F requirements

• Some machining after removal from baseplate

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Qualification Process

• Witness tension specimens – X, Y, and Z for each build

• Metallography to inspect for Laves phase• Vibration testing• 10x visual inspection of welds (not discussed)

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Surface Profile

• Test specimens had a roughness of approximately 100 Ra (arithmetical mean)

100x photo

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Microstructure

• No signs of Laves phase (undesirable interglobular phase)

• 50x photo on the right

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Tensile Strength

• Built 3 tensile specimens with each part – X, Y and Z

• Specimens were made as cylinders then machined to final dimensions

• 18 total specimens– Six specimens were not HIPed, solution heat

treated, or aged (for comparison purposes)– 1 was cross-sectioned for a non-

conformance• Tested per ASTM E8 at room temperature

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Tensile Strength

• All specimens met ASTM F3055, Class F requirements– Within 15% of minimum values

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Non-Conformances

• Build pause– Caused by power bump– Faint line visible

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Non-Conformances

• Build pause at 100x: Build direction

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Non-Conformances

• Build pause– Cross-sectioned Z (vertical)

specimen; no microstructural defect observed

– NASA Marshall Space Flight Center had representative data showing a slight reduction in yield strength (approximately 15%) and no reduction in ultimate tensile strength

– Parts were acceptable with assumed lower properties

Z tensile specimenwith build pause

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Non-Conformances

• Discoloration– Stress relieved in air by mistake– Cross-section of remnant material showed less than

0.001” oxidation– No embrittlement of mesh observed in vibration test

Vents installed in panel prior to integration

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Post-Flight Inspection

• No damage observed

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Conclusions

• Microstructure shows no signs of Laves phase• Tensile specimens met ASTM F3055, Class F

though they weren’t processed identically– Could have been made to near-net size

• Slight reduction in strength from build pause• Part passed a qualification vibration test• No damage observed after the mission

© 2014 Lockheed Martin Corporation. All Rights Reserved