Abstract

As a rapidly developing technology, the expanded capability of Additive Manufacturing (AM) allows implementation into the marine and offshore industries. Qualification of metal AM part may need detailed test plans and test results in order to meet the design requirements with a certain level of reliability. Approval may also be needed in accordance with regulation codes and class rules.

However, challenges and gaps remain between the current metal AM technology level and marine and offshore applications. In this paper, two major categories of metal AM processes are discussed: powder bed fusion (PBF) and directed energy deposition (DED) with powder or wire as raw materials and laser, electronic beam (E-beam) or arc as heat source. The main challenges are also investigated in this study as follows: 1) Optimization of build cost and part quality by selection of appropriate process; 2) Performance of the part under static and cyclic loading; 3) Evaluation of the effects of corrosive environments (seawater); 4) Lack of standardization of the AM process for quality control. This paper addresses possible solutions for these challenges and provides qualification framework for metal AM parts to be implemented into marine and offshore applications.

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