Grants and Contributions:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2018-2019).

Recent advances in aerospace engineering involve both enhanced aerodynamic design and use of advancedx000D
materials. This project focuses on advanced materials and their durability but also enables use of thesex000D
materials as test structures for validating aerodynamic designs. More specifically, we will study 3D printedx000D
parts that will be used for wind tunnel testing. These parts are often damaged from 'hangar rash' that isx000D
surface-related damage from normal handling. To overcome this, the parts will be electroplated with thinx000D
metallic coatings. An array of testing and characterization will be done to evaluate the effectiveness of a fewx000D
candidate coatings in terms of their bond strength, scratch resistance and surface finish characteristics.x000D
Altogether, the project will also examine the effect of process variables on the properties and effectiveness ofx000D
the coatings. The impact of this research will be increased durability of 3D printed structures used for windx000D
tunnel testing, leading to cost savings and less environmental impact. Secondly, this research will have benefitx000D
of understanding surface engineering required for 3D printed parts that may eventually be used in a realx000D
aerospace application.