Simulation and additiv manufacturing of complex parts for loading systems

Purpose and goal:

TurnTime has developed a unique product for aircraft loading that enables faster and easier handling for ground personnel. The complexity of a component makes conventional manufacturing expensive, where additive manufacturing/3D printing can be a solution. The product requires high precision and material quality after manufacturing. In this project, we used metal binder jetting for production and simulated the thermal history using Simtec Soft Sweden´s tools.

The process could be adjusted to reduce costs and environmental impact By identifying deformations,. Expected results and effects:

The study involved world-leading and comprehensive full-scale CFD simulations of the sintering process for a Metal Binder Jetting (MBJ) aero specimen inside a crucible. It took into account important factors such as gas flow, thermal radiation, convective heat transfer, and conjugate heat transfer in solids and fluids. The results provided an accurate representation of the system, with closely matched gas and solid temperatures to the experimental input.

This valuable thermal history information is instrumental in optimizing and improving the sintering process for MBJ. Approach and implementation:

CFD simulations, encompassing a full 15-hour heating-holding-cooling cycle were conducted using Simtec software. Important processes such as fluid flow, thermal radiation, convection, and conjugate heat transfer were calculated. The computations were executed on an Intel Core i9-13900K 3.00 GHz processor with 6 threads for parallel computing.

To ensure precise heat transfer, Simtec employed a dual mesh system with a separate wall mesh at the interface. The simulations utilized a total of 38.7 million cells for the fluid domain and 9.3 million cells for the wall surfaces.