Internship: Producing recycled powders from CRMs’ secondary resources for AM or MRO activities

Job description

Background The aviation sector relies heavily on Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) such as aluminium, titanium and nickel alloys. However, the supply of these materials is limited, and their extraction has a significant environmental impact. Thus, the EU is investing in circular economy strategies to reduce CO2 emissions and ensure the availability of CRMs, by adopting sustainable practices such as remanufacturing, reusing, and recycling materials. Secondary resources are favourable to reduce reliance on primary extraction and minimize waste. Additive Manufacturing and Cold Spray can reduce dependencies on CRMs, prolong material lifetimes, and enable in-house part repair. As a student, you have the opportunity to contribute to the development of circular economy loop for the aviation sector and you will learn from NLR experts how to use state-of-the-art equipment, prepare and analyse material/coupons based on aviation requirements. Assignment: Your assignment will focus on upscaling 3D printing manufacturing (e.g. Directed Energy Deposition, or Laser Powder Bed Fusion) of re-milled scrap chips from 500g feed to 1-2L, with the goal of producing specimens for corrosion, creep, mechanical...