Recycling of Secondary Feedstocks in Austere Locations
Additive Friction Stir Deposition (AFSD) provides a rapid, flexible, and robust metal recycling option that can be applied to manufacture large-scale multi-material components and/or repair damaged structures (i.e. vehicles, armor systems, etc.) while in-theatre, at the point-of-need, thus reducing the associated logistical challenges. This research combined experimental and computational investigations of two specific metal waste streams from the deployed Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) units: (1) scrap metal from machine chips generated by maintenance-MOS activities, and (2) expeditionary airfield (EAF) aluminum landing mats from EAF-MOS activities. These two waste streams typically generate chips and metal strips, respectively, and were used as the pilot case for direct recycling of the feedstock in the AFSD process. This research provides a starting point for the scientific community to begin assessing this new direct additive recycling (DAR) paradigm for using secondary feedstock material for Point-of-Need Manufacturing and Repair that eases logistic burdens.
Publications
J. B. Jordon et al., “Direct recycling of machine chips through a novel solid-state additive manufacturing process,” Materials and Design, vol. 193, Aug. 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.matdes.2020.108850.
P. G. Allison et al., “Point-of-Need Innovations: Metal Additive Manufacturing and Repair,” Advanced Materials & Processes, vol. 181, no. 1, pp. 12–20, Feb. 2023.
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