Martian regolith—Ti6Al4V composites via additive manufacturing

Abstract

In order to investigate the in-space in situ resource utilization, directed energy deposition (DED)-based additive manufacturing (AM) has been utilized to process Martian regolith-Ti6Al4V (Ti64) composites. Here we investigated the processability of depositing 5, 10, and 100 wt% of Martian regolith premixed with Ti6Al4V using laser-based DED, analyzing the printed structure via X-ray diffraction, Vicker's microhardness, scanning electron microscopic imaging, and wear characteristics utilizing an abrasive water jet cutter to simulate abrasive environments on the Martian surface. The results indicate that the surface roughness and hardness of the composites increase with respect to the Martian regolith' weight percentage due to in situ ceramic reinforcement. For instance, i5-wt% addition of Martian regolith increased the Vicker's microhardness from 366 ± 6 HV 0.2 for as-printed Ti64 to 730 ± 27 HV 0.2 while maintaining similar abrasive wear performance as Ti6Al4V. The results point toward laser-based AM for fabricating Ti64-Martian regolith composites with comparable properties. The study also reveals promising results in limiting the mass burden for future space missions, resulting in cheaper and easier launches.