| Popis: |
Additive manufacturing has become an essential part of rapid prototyping. In ocean engineering and especially ocean research technology, additive manufacturing can be an effective and cost-efficient way of creating highly customized products such as pressure-resistant enclosures with complex requirements. Furthermore, using lightweight 3D-printing materials significantly reduces the component’s weight. Conversely, payloads can be increased — another advantage compared to pressure enclosures built from conventional materials. In this context, an experimental study of the behaviour of additive manufactured enclosures for subsea applications is performed. For this purpose, a suitable design is selected and adapted to meet manufacturing process requirements. Polyethylene terephthalate (PETG) and polycarbonate (PC) are selected as filament materials. In addition, post-printing treatments are studied. The various specimens are immersed in water to ensure a sufficient saturation level. After a period of three days, each sample is then exposed to increased hydrostatic pressure until collapse. Finally, all experimental results are used to establish initial design and safety factors, reflecting the mechanical properties of the materials as well as the specific characteristics of the selected additive manufacturing process. |
