b'Large scale sparkNovel carbon fiber fabrication method reduces cost and increases plasma sintering processstrength and fracture resistance of tooling needed for electric and die design field assisted sintering manufacturing of large parts.T he primary aim of this project was to create an improved alternative to the standard graphite tooling used in electric field assisted sintering technology (also known as spark plasma sintering). Graphite has low fracture toughness and isotropic thermal properties and as electric field assisted sintering technology scales to larger and larger parts where tooling costs are significant, tailorable heat zones and higher strengths and fracture resistant tooling PROJECT NUMBER:is desired. A novel manufacturing method was created to produce continuous fiber 21A1050-096FPthree-dimensional printed carbon fiber reinforced carbon. The unique starting TOTAL APPROVED AMOUNT:preforms were printed using a computer numerical controlled armature that extrudes $1,891,600 over 3 years carbon fiber coated with resin that immediately hardens by shining ultraviolet light at the end effector. This allowed spatial manipulation of fiber layup and custom PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:fiber orientations. Multiple custom fiber orientations, uniaxial, quasi-isotropic, and Jorgen Rufner, INL spiral were investigated for their impact on mechanical, thermal, and electrical CO-INVESTIGATORS: properties of the final part. The preforms were pyrolyzed under inert atmosphere Arin Preston, INL at moderate temperatures (1000C) and vacuum infiltrated with a carbon rich Blesson Isaac, INL mesophase pitch in an INL custom designed heated vacuum chamber. The infiltrated Joshua Kane, INL parts were graphitized and densified at elevated temperatures using a patent Kai Lu, INL pending electric field assisted sintering process. It generated carbon-carbon parts Robert Fox, INL with comparable or better densities and degrees of graphitization than what were Kunal Mondal, Oak Ridge National Laboratory seen commercially. Furthermore, it was done is a fraction of the time. We leveraged the anisotropic nature of the material to design die sets for parts ranging from COLLABORATOR: 20150mm for use in electric field assisted sintering instruments which enabled Continuous Composites, Inc. both greater mechanical strength of tooling, as well as allowing 4050% energy savings compared to graphite without altering the resultant sintered product. The reduced energy usage also translates into reduced ram temperatures in the electric field assisted sintering instrument, which ultimately enhances the capabilities of any given electric field assisted sintering machine, as ram over-temperature is one of the primary limiting factors in operation. Collaborations with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Department of Defense Organizations have resulted from the science developed during this project.94'