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Small size 3D printed hydraulic components with integrated fluid sensing capabilities: A proof of concept

Manoli Chrysoula

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Summary

The field of thermal management is becoming more and more important due to the increased demands in application fields such as aerospace (engines, shielding), automotivem(batteries, electric motors), particle detectors (silicon tracker cooling) and manufacturing (injection molds, tooling stamps). Sensing and monitoring fluid parameters of circulating fluids, used in thermal management systems is essential to the control and efficiency of a process system. Complex hydraulic circuits with a number of integrated sensors are required, to meet the increased demands of such applications. As systems become more complex so too does the measurement of fluid properties. SWaP (Smart Wall Pipes and ducts) is a project that has been developed, in the frame of the ATTRACT project, funded by Horizon 2020. Two large Organizations, based in Switzerland, CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) and CSEM (Swiss Centre for Electronics and Microtechnology) collaborated and worked on the development of revolutionary components for the next generation of cooling systems, directly embedding sensors in a hydraulic circuit element by the combination of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies. SWaP addresses the limitations of conventional methods by combining AM techniques for the fabrication of smart structures (Selective Laser Melting and Aerosol Jet Printing). This project has received funding from the ATTRACT project funded by the EC under Grant Agreement 777222.The subject of this Master Thesis is combined with the work on SWaP, in the frame of the candidate's technical studentship at CERN (Sep19 – Oct20). An overview on the Additive Manufacturing technology, commonly known as “3D-printing”, including the methods, the used materials and the key advantages over conventional manufacturing (freedom of design, complex shapes, and on demand production) are presented in the first part of this work. Then, the thesis concentrates on the different methods of metal AM for the production of structural components, with an emphasis on the SLM method. The innovative technology of AJP is analyzed, presenting the state-of-the-art fields of application.The second part of the thesis concentrates on the fabrication and evaluation of the SWaP prototype, including the used methods of AM, the materials, the laboratory equipment and the test methods. Finally, the test results for the evaluation of the SWaP prototype sensor are presented and discussed.

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