A method of additively manufacturing an object includes steps of: (1) successively forming a plurality of powder layers by depositing powder; (2) selectively controlling a composition of the powder that forms each one of the plurality of powder layers; and (3) successively forming a plurality of object layers of the object by joining the powder of a portion of each one of the plurality of powder layers before forming each successive one of the plurality of powder layers.

A method of additively manufacturing an object includes steps of: (1) successively forming a plurality of powder layers by depositing powder; (2) selectively controlling a composition of the powder that forms each one of the plurality of powder layers; and (3) successively forming a plurality of object layers of the object by joining the powder of a portion of each one of the plurality of powder layers before forming each successive one of the plurality of powder layers.

Thermally configurable structural elements (e.g., aircraft components such as an aircraft winglet spar) capable of assuming at least first and second structural configurations are provided whereby the structural element includes an integral actuation mechanism may be formed of sintered shape memory alloy (SMA) particles and sintered non-SMA particles formed by an additive layer manufacturing (ALM) process, such as 3D printing. The ALM process thereby provides by at least one thermally configurable region, and at least one non-thermally configurable region which is unitarily contiguous with the at least one thermally configurable region. The at least one thermally configurable region is capable of assuming at least first and second positional orientations in response to the presence or absence of a thermal input to thereby cause the structural element to assume the at least first and second structural configurations, respectively.

Thermally configurable structural elements (e.g., aircraft components such as an aircraft winglet spar) capable of assuming at least first and second structural configurations are provided whereby the structural element includes an integral actuation mechanism may be formed of sintered shape memory alloy (SMA) particles and sintered non-SMA particles formed by an additive layer manufacturing (ALM) process, such as 3D printing. The ALM process thereby provides by at least one thermally configurable region, and at least one non-thermally configurable region which is unitarily contiguous with the at least one thermally configurable region. The at least one thermally configurable region is capable of assuming at least first and second positional orientations in response to the presence or absence of a thermal input to thereby cause the structural element to assume the at least first and second structural configurations, respectively.

A method of manufacturing a composite material for thermal shields, and a composite material manufactured by the method are proposed. The method may include preparing a mixed powder including (i) a metal powder including a powder of aluminum or aluminum alloy and (ii) a polymer or ceramic powder. The method may also include sintering the mixed powder through pressureless sintering or spark plasma sintering to produce a composite material. According to the present disclosure, a powder of polymer, ceramic, and/or metal which have a relatively low level of thermal conductivity can be compounded with a metal material including aluminum through a sintering process of powder metallurgy, such as pressureless sintering or spark plasma sintering. Thus, a heterogeneous composite material with a low-level thermal conductivity (10 W/mk or less) can be obtained, and the composite material can be used as a material for various thermal shields.

A method of manufacturing a composite material for thermal shields, and a composite material manufactured by the method are proposed. The method may include preparing a mixed powder including (i) a metal powder including a powder of aluminum or aluminum alloy and (ii) a polymer or ceramic powder. The method may also include sintering the mixed powder through pressureless sintering or spark plasma sintering to produce a composite material. According to the present disclosure, a powder of polymer, ceramic, and/or metal which have a relatively low level of thermal conductivity can be compounded with a metal material including aluminum through a sintering process of powder metallurgy, such as pressureless sintering or spark plasma sintering. Thus, a heterogeneous composite material with a low-level thermal conductivity (10 W/mk or less) can be obtained, and the composite material can be used as a material for various thermal shields.

An electrostatic chuck includes a base plate that is made of a metal; a ceramic plate that is fixed to the base plate and configured to adsorb an object by electrostatic force; and a bonding layer that is provided between the base plate and the ceramic plate to bond the base plate and the ceramic plate to each other. The bonding layer is formed of a composite material including the metal forming the base plate and a ceramic forming the ceramic plate.

An electrostatic chuck includes a base plate that is made of a metal; a ceramic plate that is fixed to the base plate and configured to adsorb an object by electrostatic force; and a bonding layer that is provided between the base plate and the ceramic plate to bond the base plate and the ceramic plate to each other. The bonding layer is formed of a composite material including the metal forming the base plate and a ceramic forming the ceramic plate.

A polymer-assisted 3D printing method and ink compositions are used to manufacture magnetocaloric devices having many applications including in heat pumps, refrigerators, etc. The ink compositions and printing methods can produce compositionally graded, anisotropically aligned magnetocaloric architectures with designed pores and channels, to bring forth significant improvement in heat exchange efficiency.

A polymer-assisted 3D printing method and ink compositions are used to manufacture magnetocaloric devices having many applications including in heat pumps, refrigerators, etc. The ink compositions and printing methods can produce compositionally graded, anisotropically aligned magnetocaloric architectures with designed pores and channels, to bring forth significant improvement in heat exchange efficiency.