Additive Manufacturing of Novel Hybrid Monolithic Ceramic Substrates

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) can revolutionise engineering by taking advantage of unconstrained design and overcoming the limitations of traditional manufacturing capabilities. A promising application of AM is in catalyst substrate manufacturing, aimed at the enhancement of the catalytic efficiency and reduction in the volume and weight of the catalytic reactors in the exhaust gas aftertreatment systems. This work addresses the design and fabrication of innovative, hybrid monolithic ceramic substrates using AM technology based on Digital Light Processing (DLP). The designs are based on two individual substrates integrated into a single, dual-substrate monolith by various interlocking systems. These novel dual-substrate monoliths lay the foundation for the potential reduction in the complexity and expense of the aftertreatment system. Several examples of interlocking systems for dual substrates were designed, manufactured and thermally post-processed to illustrate the viability and versatility of the DLP manufacturing process. Based on the findings, the sintered parts displayed anisotropic sintering shrinkage of approximately 14% in the X–Y direction and 19% in the Z direction, with a sintered density of 97.88 ± 0.01%. Finally, mechanical tests revealed the mechanical integrity of the designed interlocks. U-lock and Thread configurations were found to sustain more load until complete failure.