(567d) Harnessing a High Energy, Superconducting Electron Beam for Additive and Far-from-Equilibrium Manufacturing

Superconducting linear accelerators that generate electron beams open up new opportunities for advanced materials processing since they can continuously deliver extremely high energy electrons. The increased energy delivery rate of these systems enables the production of far-from-equilibrium materials and selective processing within a material surface and subsurface. High energy electrons penetrate deeper within materials and can increase the processing depth and rate.

With the help and funding of the Office of Naval Research, NASA, and DoE, Mainstream Engineering commissioned a superconducting linear electron accelerator system specifically designed to investigate advanced materials processing, production, and additive manufacturing. The goal of Mainstream's Electron Beam Enabled Advanced Manufacturing (EBEAM) center is to develop materials that are uniquely produced with high energy electron beam systems and alleviate significant technological deficiencies.

We will present results of irradiating various metals and their alloys and the unique material properties that result. Monte Carlo simulations of the interaction of the electron beam with the sample were used to optimize the processing parameters and study far-from-equilibrium processing conditions. Among the applications that will be discussed are additive manufacturing of stainless steels for small modular nuclear reactors and corrosion-resistant cladding via bonding of dissimilar metals for next-generation molten salt reactors.