Faculty Publications
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://idr.nitk.ac.in/handle/123456789/18736
Publications by NITK Faculty
Browse
4 results
Search Results
Item Thermal life assessment of laser powder-directed energy deposited NiCrAlY/CuCrZr bimetallic clad for rocket nozzle applications(Elsevier B.V., 2024) Thanumoorthy, R.S.; Urs, S.S.; Bontha, S.; Balan, A.S.S.To enhance the thermal life of rocket exhaust nozzles, the hot side of copper liners is coated with thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) to provide thermal insulation and oxidation resistance. However, interface failures often occur between M-CrAlY bond coats and nozzle liners due to significant differences in their thermal expansion coefficients (CTE). This study explores the use of Laser Powder-Directed Energy Deposition (LP-DED) to clad NiCrAlY onto a CuCrZr substrate, as the process offers localized heating which can offer better bond strength. Optimization trials were conducted using single and multi-track studies to identify optimal parameters. Due to the low energy absorption of the CuCrZr substrate to 1070 nm laser sources, cladding was performed at a high energy density of 135 J/mm2 with a 1.2 g/min feed rate to achieve defect-free clads with sufficient diffusion. The bulk of the NiCrAlY clads showed ??-Ni3Al, ?-NiAl, and ?-Ni phases, while Y4Al2O9 and Y2O3 oxides formed on the top surface due to aluminum and yttrium depletion at high temperatures. The clads exhibited cellular dendritic microstructures at the bulk region, and planar microstructures were observed at the dilution zone. EBSD-KAM maps showed higher dislocation density near the interface due to CTE mismatch across substrate and clad. Scratch tests confirmed strong adhesion with no interface cracks, though crack propagation was observed from the edges after 50 isothermal cycles, driven by copper erosion. With Cu diffusion, interface region exhibited a graded microstructure which could enhance CTE, improving compatibility compared to standard NiCrAlY alloys. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.Item Copper-graphene nanocomposite fabrication through LP-DED process: Powder preparation, characterization and printability studies(Elsevier Ltd, 2024) Sharma, S.; Thanumoorthy, R.S.; Bontha, S.; Balan, A.S.S.Copper and its alloys play a crucial role in various engineering applications due to their excellent conductive properties. However, their poor laser absorptivity and high conductivity make them a complex material to work with using laser additive manufacturing processes, hindering the ease of fabrication of precise and complex geometries. To overcome this challenge, graphene-reinforced copper powders were employed to enhance laser absorptivity. With graphene addition, there was a substantial increase in the laser absorptivity. The addition of graphene improved laser absorptivity from 15 % for pure copper to ~60 % in Gr-Cu composites. However, the flowability deteriorated at higher compositions, which could result from increased specific surface area due to graphene agglomeration and its nanoscale surface. The influence of graphene on the ease of fabrication employing laser powder-directed energy deposition was evaluated with a single-track and bulk deposition. A single-track study revealed that pure copper tracks were inconsistent and exhibited poor bonding due to their poor laser absorptivity. Meanwhile, graphene?copper composite tracks displayed stable melt pools and uniform tracks, which could result from enhanced absorptivity. Geometrically sound and defect-free Gr-Cu tracks were deposited using 750 W laser power with composite powders, while pure copper tracks at 950 W laser power deposition yielded defective tracks. However, a graphene percentage above 0.1 % resulted in the formation of keyhole porosity due to a significant enhancement in laser absorption (~60 %). A similar observation was made for bulk deposition, i.e., defect-free deposition for Gr-Cu composites ?0.1 % graphene and keyhole porosities in the deposition of 0.25Gr-Cu and 0.8Gr-Cu. © 2024 The Society of Manufacturing EngineersItem Effect of age hardening precipitates on the corrosion performance of laser Powder-Directed energy deposited CuNi2SiCr(Elsevier B.V., 2024) Urs, S.S.; Thanumoorthy, R.S.; Aswith Babu, I.; Doddamani, M.; Bontha, S.; Balan, A.S.S.This study explores Laser Powder ? Direct Energy Deposition (LP-DED) processing of CuNi2SiCr and the effect of heat treatment on corrosion behavior. The findings pave the way to increasing the life of the components and the possibility of refabrication upon failure. LP-DED manufactured CuNi2SiCr was subjected to solution treatment followed by age-hardening at 500? for 1,3,5 and 7 h. The microstructure analysis showed the formation of Cr3Ni precipitates due to a higher cooling rate in the LP-DED process. Upon aging, Ni3Si, Ni2Si, and CrSi2 precipitates evolved. Due to the Orowan phenomenon, microhardness increases with the aging time as the number of precipitates along the grain boundary increases with the aging time. The 5-hour aged sample exhibited the best corrosion resistance due to precipitation coherency in the matrix and the medium-sized precipitates with uniform precipitation-free zones (PFZ) in the grain boundary. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.Item A novel NiCrAlY-Cu based bond coat for rocket nozzle applications through LP-DED process(Elsevier Ltd, 2025) Thanumoorthy, R.S.; Vijay, A.; Bontha, S.; Balan, A.S.S.This study explores the development of a novel bond coat for copper-based substrates with the goal of minimizing thermal expansion mismatch and enhancing thermal life in rocket nozzle applications. The effect of copper (Cu) addition on the microstructure, phase evolution, and thermo-mechanical behavior of NiCrAlY clads fabricated via laser powder-directed energy deposition (LP-DED) is systematically investigated to optimize their performance. SEM and elemental mapping reveal a shift from columnar to cellular substructures with Cu additions up to 20 wt%, while higher Cu contents lead to coarse dendritic growth and Cu segregation at grain boundaries, inducing localized strain and crack formation. XRD and DFT analyses indicate that Cu suppresses the ?-NiAl phase and stabilizes the ?-Ni matrix due to its limited solubility in ? and preferential partitioning into ?. High-temperature XRD and EDS analyses show that while pure NiCrAlY forms a continuous alumina scale, Cu-enriched clads develop fragmented and crack-prone thermally grown oxides (TGOs), compromising the oxidation resistance. KAM analysis suggests reduced lattice strain at 10 wt% Cu, followed by increased dislocation density at higher concentrations. Thermal expansion measurements indicate a significant increase in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) at 10 wt% Cu, improving compatibility with Cu-based substrates. However, further Cu additions yield minimal CTE benefits while degrading mechanical strength. Microhardness declines from ?406 Hv (0 % Cu) to ?251 Hv (40 % Cu) due to solid solution softening and ?-phase suppression. A radar plot comparing key metrics identifies 10 wt% Cu as the optimal composition, offering a balanced property set for regeneratively cooled rocket nozzle systems. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.