FAA Auburn Uni
Auburn Engineering faculty: Nima Shamsaei (left) and Steve Taylor (right).
The National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence (NCAME) at Auburn University is to initiate a two-year aerospace additive manufacturing project with backing from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Following a $3 million grant from the FAA, NCAME is aiming to improve commercial air travel by carrying out research into metal additively manufactured components.
The project will see metal parts produced with a number of ‘industrial-scale’ 3D printers, with considerations made as to the variability of the performance of parts made on different platforms, as well as the impact of microscopic features on the overall fatigue and fracture properties of components.
FAA considers both to be key areas in the development of additive manufacturing specifications for the aerospace sector and has thus offered its support in a bid to improve safety by ‘standardising certification of existing and emerging structural applications of advanced materials.’ The organisation believes NCAME, which was established in 2017 by Auburn University and NASA, to be an international leader in this research area.
Nima Shamsaei – NCAME Director, Philpott-WestPoint Stevens Distinguished Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Co-Principle Investigator of the project – believes the lack of additive manufacturing specifications to be the technology’s ‘Achilles heel’, while fellow Co-Principle Investigator Steve Taylor, who is also the Associate Dean for Research at Auburn, believes with FAA’s support, NCAME can make a significant contribution to their future development.
“By understanding the sources of variability, controlling them, or accounting for them, we can generate more reliable materials data, and more reliable AM products,” commented Shamsaei.
“Auburn University is honoured to be collaborating with the FAA. By teaming our faculty, who are global leaders in research on additively manufactured metal components, with the top engineers and scientists at FAA, we are confident that we can develop new knowledge that will help engineers design safer, more efficient aircraft,” added Taylor.
Other investigators on the project include Shuai Shao, associate professor of mechanical engineering; Hareesh Tippur, McWane Professor of mechanical engineering; Nick Tsolas, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; Jeff Suhling, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering; Masoud Mahjouri-Samani, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering; Alex Vinel, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering; Daniel Silva, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering; and Jia (Peter) Liu, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering. Mike Ogles, director of NASA Programs, serves as project manager.
