Manufacturing of ceramic cores: From hot injection to 3D printing

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2022.06.033

Abstract

Abstract:

With the improvement of aero-engine performance, the preparation of hollow blades of single-crystal superalloys with complex inner cavity cooling structures is becoming increasingly urgent. The ceramic core is the key intermediate part of the preparation and has attracted wide attention. To meet this challenge, new technologies that can make up for the defects of long periods and high costs of fabricating complex structural cores by traditional hot injection technology are needed. Vat photopolymerization 3D printing ceramic technology has been applied to the core field to realize the rapid preparation of complex structural cores. However, the industrial application of this technology still needs further research and improvement. Herein, ceramic cores were prepared using traditional hot injection and vat photopolymerization 3D printing techniques using fused silica, nano-ZrO₂, and Al₂O₃ powders as starting materials. The 3D printed ceramic core has a typical layered structure with a small pore size and low porosity. Because of the layered structure, the pore area is larger than that of the hot injection ceramic core, the leaching performance has little effect (0.0277 g/min for 3D printing cores, 0.298 g/min for hot injection cores). In the X and Y directions, the sintering shrinkage is low (2.7%), but in the Z direction, the shrinkage is large (4.7%). The fracture occurs when the inner layer crack expands and connects with the interlayer crack, forming a stepped fracture in the 3D-printed cores. The bending strength of the 3D printed core at high temperature (1500 °C) is 17.3 MPa. These analyses show that the performance of vat photopolymerization 3D-printed ceramic cores can meet the casting requirements of single crystal superalloy blades, which is a potential technology for the preparation of complex structure ceramic cores. The research mode of 3D printing core technology based on the traditional hot injection process provides an effective new idea for promoting the industrial application of 3D printing core technology.

Key words: Ceramic cores, 3D printing, Hot injection, Anisotropic, Layer structure

Qiaolei Li, Tianci Chen, Jingjing Liang, Chaowei Zhang, Jinguo Li, Yizhou Zhou, Xiaofeng Sun. Manufacturing of ceramic cores: From hot injection to 3D printing[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2023, 134: 95-105.

Figures/Tables 11

Fig. 1. Process flow and cycle of hot injection (a) and vat photopolymerization 3D printed (b) ceramic core processes.

Fig. 2. TG-DTA analysis data of hot injection (a) and vat photopolymerization 3D printed (b) ceramic core green body.

Fig. 3. SEM image of a cross-section of a hot injection (a, c) and vat photopolymerization 3D printed (b, d) ceramic core.

Fig. 4. Fracture surface morphology and elemental distribution analysis results of the hot injection (a-f) and vat photopolymerization 3D printed (g-l) ceramic core.

Fig. 5. EPMA element distribution results of the hot injection (a-e) and vat photopolymerization 3D printed (f-j) ceramic cores.

Fig. 6. XRD analysis results of the hot injection and vat photopolymerization 3D printed ceramic cores.

Fig. 7. Pore distribution of the hot injection (a, c, and e) and vat photopolymerization 3D printed (b, d, and f) ceramic cores characterized by industrial CT.

Fig. 8. TEM analysis results of the microstructure and elemental distribution between particles of the hot injection (a-e) and vat photopolymerization 3D printed (f-j) ceramic cores.

Fig. 9. Properties test results of the hot injection and vat photopolymerization 3D printed ceramic cores. (a) bending strength at 25 °C and 1500 °C, (b) sintering shrinkage rate, (c) open porosity, and (d) leaching rate.

Fig. 10. Fracture surface morphology and fracture mechanism diagram of the hot injection (a, c, and e) and 3D printed cores (b, d, and f) in the bending strength test. (a, b) fracture mechanism diagram, (c-f) fracture surface morphology.

Fig. 11. Surface 3D morphology and roughness analysis results of the hot injection (a) and 3D printed (b) cores.

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