Pre-ceramic Particle Solutions for Additive Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing polymer-derived ceramics (PDCs) via additive manufacturing face challenges such as high volume loss during debinding, interlayer cracking due to shrinkage, and limited efficiency in loading fissionable materials.
Innovation Solution
The development of pre-ceramic particle solutions using Coordinated-PDC, Direct-PDC, and Coordinated-Direct-PDC processes, which involve organic and organometallic polymers to increase inorganic loading, reduce volume loss, and enhance manufacturing efficiency, while also allowing for the selective loading of fissionable materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If purely organic monomers are used in DLP additive manufacturing of PDCs, then the resin can be easily polymerized, but large volume loss (30-40%) occurs during debinding and sintering
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses composite monomers containing both organic and inorganic components. Specifically, it employs organometallic monomers like platinum-acetylacetonate and organosilicon monomers like tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) combined with organic monomers. This composite approach allows the material to maintain polymerizability while reducing organic content, thereby minimizing volume loss during debinding from 30-40% down to significantly lower levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameters of the monomers by incorporating inorganic precursors with specific metal-to-organic ratios. By adjusting the concentration and type of organometallic compounds in the resin formulation, the patent optimizes the balance between polymerization characteristics and debinding behavior, achieving reduced volume loss while maintaining manufacturability.
2Quantity of substance
If high ceramic particle loading is used to increase fissionable material content, then the fuel density increases, but interlayer cracking occurs due to shrinkage stress
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces organometallic monomers as intermediary substances that bridge the ceramic particles and the polymer matrix. These monomers act as binding agents that form a flexible organic-inorganic hybrid network during polymerization, accommodating particle packing and reducing shrinkage stress. This intermediary phase prevents interlayer cracking while maintaining high ceramic loading, enabling defect-free structures with high fissionable material content.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the particle size distribution and loading concentration parameters to reduce shrinkage stress. By using a controlled distribution of particle sizes and adjusting the volumetric concentration of ceramic particles in the resin, the patent minimizes packing defects and reduces the magnitude of shrinkage during debinding, thereby preventing interlayer cracking while achieving high fuel density.
3Device complexity
If conventional organic monomers are used, then the resin formulation is simple, but the inorganic content and manufacturing efficiency are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent develops composite resin formulations incorporating organometallic monomers such as platinum-acetylacetonate and organosilicon compounds like TEOS. These composite monomers provide dual functionality: they participate in polymerization reactions and simultaneously contribute inorganic content to the final PDC structure. This approach increases manufacturing efficiency by reducing the number of separate processing steps while enhancing the inorganic content of the produced ceramics.
Solution Approach 2:
The organometallic monomers serve multiple functions simultaneously: they act as polymerization substrates, provide inorganic precursor content, and contribute to the mechanical properties of the green body. This multi-functionality increases manufacturing efficiency by consolidating multiple material requirements into single compounds, thereby improving productivity without proportionally increasing formulation complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
These processes achieve reduced volume loss and defects, increased fissionable material loading, and improved manufacturing efficiency, enabling the production of PDCs with enhanced properties suitable for applications in fission reactors.
Implementation Method 1
Digital Light Projection (DLP) additive manufacturing (AM) of suitable resin compositions
Implementation Method 2
upon heat treatment (typically under inert atmosphere), PDCs pyrolyze into M (C,N,O) species
Implementation Method 3
These cracks are due to stress induced by the shrinkage during debinding and sintering
Data Source
AI summary
Pre-ceramic particle solutions can prepared by a Coordinated-PDC process, a Direct-PDC process or a Coordinated-Direct-PDC process. The pre-ceramic particle solution includes a polymer selected from the group consisting of (i) an organic polymer including a metal or metalloid cation, (ii) a first organometallic polymer and (iii) a second organometallic polymer including a metal or metalloid cation different from a metal in the second organometallic polymer, a plurality of particles selected from the group consisting of (a) a ceramic fuel particle and (b) a moderator particle, a dispersant, and a polymerization initiator. The pre-ceramic particle solution can be supplied to an additive manufacturing process, such as digital light projection, and made into a structure (which is pre-ceramic particle green body) that can then be debinded to form a polymer-derived ceramic sintered body. In some embodiments, the polymer-derived ceramic sintered body is a component or structure for fission reactors.