MULTI-MATERIAL ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED COMPOSITE REACTIVE MATERIALS VIA CONTINUOUS FILAMENT DIRECT INK WRITING

Abstract Advances in multi-material additive manufacturing have enabled advancements in the manufacture of composite materials. In this work, a family of thermite-based reactive materials is created and evaluated for the suitability as composite energetic structures. The burn rate with respect to binder ratio is observed to be highly predictable and exponential (coefficients of determination of r T i 2 = 0.984 and r A l 2 = 0.973 ), with composites transitioning from one binder mass fraction to another. To create composites, a single layered syringe and nozzle are used in conjunction with continuous filament direct ink writing. The resulting prints show success in composite structure with a transition zone between printed materials. These results show both a variety of thermite-based energetics with easily modifiable reaction rates and a technique to print said reactive materials to create composite structures.