In September 2017, Nature published an article titled "3D Printing of High-Strength Aluminium Alloys". HRL Labs addressed the large columnar grains and periodic cracks generated during the 3D printing process by introducing nucleating agent nanoparticles that control coagulation and assembled them onto the 7075 and 6061 series aluminum alloy powders. After functionalization with nucleating agents, it was found that these high-strength aluminum alloys, which were previously impossible to 3D print, could not only be successfully processed using SLM technology, but also achieved a crack-free, equiaxed, fine-grained microstructure, resulting in material strength comparable to that of forged materials.
Nanoparticles are assembled onto metal powders.
Based on this research, HRL launched the commercialized high-strength aluminum alloy 7A7750/7a77.60L, which was put on the market in 2019 and got its first customer - NASA; In 2022, the material was used by the U.S. Army for 3D printing *** parts; 2023, 7a77The 60L is approved for use in Formula 1 cars. In addition, the material is used in the manufacture of heat exchangers.
In April 2023, NASA's technical team published a study on the newly developed GRX-810 superalloy in Nature under the title "A 3D Printable Alloy Designed for Extreme Environments", covering its microstructure, mechanical properties, and comparison with current similar additive manufacturing alloys. 
The new material is an oxide dispersion strengthened alloy, designated GRX-810, which can withstand temperatures in excess of 1,000 meters, is more malleable, and has a life of more than 1,000 times longer than the state-of-the-art alloys available. The material is primarily composed of Ni-Co-Cr-based alloys, created using integrated computational materials engineering techniques, and successfully coated with 1% by weight Y2O3 on NiCoCr powder particles with a powder particle size of 10-45 m using a new high-energy mixing technology, with the help of an additive manufacturing process to incorporate nanoscale yttrium oxide particles into their entire microstructure, resulting in significant performance enhancements. Overall, this is a new type of material with excellent temperature and oxidation resistance.
Y2O3 at 1% by weight is coated on NicoCR powder particles.
Compared to the previous alloy, the new material has a 35% increase in tensile strength and a threefold increase in ductility at 1093°C.
The application of this material is progressing very quickly. In the first half of 2023, EOS and 3D Systems both used their own metal 3D printers to achieve powder bed laser 3D printing of the GRX-810, and verified the performance.
According to NASA in January 2024, GRX-810 has made new progress in engineering applications, and the liquid rocket engine 3D printed by this material has been successfully tested for hot fire. It was found that the creep strength of the GRX-810 sample increased significantly compared to the other alloys tested.
GRX-810 new superalloy 3D printed rocket engine was successfully tested
GRX-810 3D printed part.
NASA prioritizes early material development for the GRX-810 alloy to establish optimal process parameters that meet the expected mechanical and thermophysical properties. At the same time, during the initial phase of the GRX-810 advancement, emphasis was placed on component development to verify that the expected complex geometries could be successfully constructed. GRX-810 is proposed for use in a variety of applications, particularly heat exchangers, turbomachinery, and components operating in high heat flux environments. In the context of liquid rocket engines, specific applications include ejectors designed to mitigate coated panels, regenerative cooling nozzles, and turbopumps. An example of a selection is shown in Figure 7. NASA used the GRX-810 to construct the turbine blisks, internally characterized deflectors, injectors, regenerative cooling nozzles, turbine blisks, and turbine blades with integral ports using a laser powder bed fusion process.
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