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Freeform Fabrication Of Zirconium Diboride Parts Using Selective Laser Sintering, Ming-Chuan Leu, Erik B. Adamek, Tieshu Huang, Greg Hilmas, Fatih Dogan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Using the Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) process, both flexural test bars and 3D fuel injector components have been fabricated with zirconium diboride (ZrB₂) powder. Stearic acid was selected as the binder. Values of SLS process parameters were chosen such that the green parts could be built with sharp geometrical features and that the sintered parts could have good mechanical properties. After binder burnout and sintering, the SLS fabricated ZrB₂ test bars achieved 80% theoretical density, and the average flexural strength of the sintered samples was 195 MPa. These values demonstrate the feasibility of the SLS process for …