A team comprising of Thales Alenia Space, Cranfield University and Glenalmond Technologies have successfully produced a first full-scale prototype of a titanium pressure vessel to be used in future manned missions for space exploration.
The piece is approximately 1m in height and 8.5kg in mass. Made of the titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V), it has been deposited using the Wire + Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) process, which Cranfield University has pioneered over the last decade.
Thanks to being able to go straight from digital drawing to final structure, WAAM has integrated two individual pieces into a single part; eliminating the need for long-lead-time forgings; and substantially reduced the amount of waste material removed by machining.
If manufactured traditionally, the component would have required about 30 times more raw material than its final mass. By using the WAAM process, more than 200 kg of Ti-6Al-4V has been saved for each item. There is room to improve this further, and Cranfield is working on innovative methods to deposit closer to the final thickness.
The WAAM shape was manufactured at Cranfield and then sent to Glenalmond Technologies where it was stress-relieved, laser-scanned, machined and inspected using an ultrasonic method. The final inspection was performed by Agiometrix using computer tomography (CT-scan) for internal quality analysis and an optical scanner, with Thales Alenia Space ensuring that the part met the mechanical requirements and specifications. Following the checks, the project team is satisfied that the vessel fulfills the driving technical and quality requirements.
