Economical, On-Demand GRCop Alloy Production

In-situ alloyed, additively manufactured GRCop components are produced by mixing elemental copper, chromium, and niobium powders and then selectively laser melting the powder mixture using powder bed fusion additive manufacturing. During laser melting, the chromium and niobium powders react to form Cr2Nb precipitates in the molten state, which are then dispersed in the pure copper matrix upon solidification. This dispersed precipitate phase is encapsulated within the pure copper matrix upon solidification, resulting in the characteristic microstructure of GRCop alloys with high thermal conductivity from the copper combined with superior mechanical properties from the precipitates. Optimization of process parameters like laser power has enabled up to 89% conversion of the constituent elements into Cr2Nb precipitates. The achieved rapid cooling rates of ~10^4-10^6 K/s enable formation of fine Cr2Nb precipitates around 0.1-1 micrometers in size. The technology is currently at a TRL 4, and NASA has developed and tested coupons of material using the new process. The related patent is now available to license. Please note that NASA does not manufacturer products itself for commercial sale. Researchers at NASA Glenn Research Center have developed a new method to make high-performance GRCop alloys. This technology enables in-situ alloying of GRCop, a copper-chromium-niobium alloy, during additive manufacturing using only elemental metal powders instead of expensive pre-alloyed powders. The key advancement leverages the laser melting process step to react chromium and niobium directly within the pure copper matrix to form the Cr2Nb strengthening precipitate. This in situ processing enables significant advantages over conventional gas atomization methods including on-demand production, lower manufacturing costs, shorter lead times, and less impurity contamination. This innovative approach unlocks new design freedoms and alloy compositional flexibility for this high-performance copper alloy. The images above show that the new, patented, alloying process (in situ alloying of GRCop) produces strengthening phases (in left image) similar in size and shape to the conventional process of gas atomization of GRCop (on the right). The similarity suggests that NASA's new alloying process has the potential to perform as well as the conventional method that NASA has used to produce additively manufactured GRCop hardware.