Ignition Susceptibility of Additive Manufactured Inconel 718 in Oxygen by Subsonic and Supersonic Particle Impact

Parts produced by Additive Manufacturing (AM), particularly Selective Laser Melting (SLM), have been shown to silt metal particulate even after undergoing stringent precision aerospace cleaning processes (Lowrey 2016). Required pressures, temperatures, and flow rates in oxygen systems are increasingly exacerbating the hazard of Particle Impact (PI), the most common direct ignition source of metals in oxygen enriched environments. As the use of AM parts in oxygen systems becomes more common their PI susceptibility must be evaluated. This type of ignition testing has never been performed on AM metals and WSTF maintains the only flowing PI test facility in existence. Evaluating ignition of these metals is a critical step for evaluating the safety of current and future low cost high performance engine technology and advanced environmental control and life support systems. This will be the first systematic study of the ignitability of additive manufactured metals in oxygen systems.