Florida International University (FIU) received a five-year, $22.9 million grant from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory to advance additive-manufacturing (AM) technologies that aid in the repair, design and durability of high-performance materials that will be used to manufacture next-generation vehicles and munitions.

The research at FIU will primarily focus on the development of high-performance metallic materials, which are lightweight and of ultra-great strength, using Rapid Advanced Deposition (RAD) techniques.

The development of high-deposition structural alloys and novel AM processing techniques from computational models is vital for the prediction of material properties and the implementation of new structural alloys into Army weapons systems. Using state-of-the-art automation, solid 3D parts could be printed in minutes and last significantly longer once RAD techniques are applied.