Application of Additive Manufacturing Technology in Nuclear Power Plant Maintenance with Special Focus on Mechanical Properties

Resumen

The objective of the study is to examine the application of additive manufacturing technology in nuclear power plant maintenance, with specific focus on the mechanical properties of the 3D printed parts. The development of additive manufacturing technologies offers a novel opportunity to enhance the efficiency of maintenance processes enabling the rapid, on-site production of required spare parts. These parts can be manufactured based on digital models stored in a database, thereby reducing machine downtime and minimizing storage costs. The literature contains numerous application examples and case studies illustrating the use of additive technology in maintenance contexts. The scope of applicability of the technology is primarily determined by the properties of the printed part. In most cases, redesigning the original part is unavoidable, because additive manufacturing technology is not able to achieve precise tolerances without subsequent machining, and the load-bearing capacity of the parts can also differ significantly from the original part. The mechanical properties of the printed part are significantly influenced by the printing parameters, such as printing orientation, printing temperature, plate temperature, etc.. In this study, we present a series of experiments in which we investigated the effect of printing orientation and printing temperature. Tensile tests were performed on standard test specimens printed with varying parameters.