Modelling the Scaling-Up of the Nickel Electroforming Process

Electroforming is increasingly gaining recognition as a promising and sustainable additive manufacturing process of the “Industry 4.0” era. Numerous important laboratory-scale studies try to shed light onto the pressing question as to which are the best industry approaches to be followed towards the...

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Main Authors: Eleni Andreou, Sudipta Roy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Chemical Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fceng.2022.755725/full
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author Eleni Andreou
Sudipta Roy
author_facet Eleni Andreou
Sudipta Roy
author_sort Eleni Andreou
collection DOAJ
description Electroforming is increasingly gaining recognition as a promising and sustainable additive manufacturing process of the “Industry 4.0” era. Numerous important laboratory-scale studies try to shed light onto the pressing question as to which are the best industry approaches to be followed towards the process’s optimisation. One of the most common laboratory-scale apparatus to gather electrochemical data is the rotating disk electrode (RDE). However, for electroforming to be successfully optimised and efficiently applied in industry, systematic scale up studies need to be conducted. Nowadays, well-informed simulations can provide a much-desired insight into the novelties and limits of the process, and therefore, scaling up modelling studies are of essence. Targeted investigations on how the size and geometry of an electroforming reactor can affect the final product could lead to process optimisation through simple modifications of the setup itself, allowing immediate time- and cost-effective adjustments within existing production lines. This means that the accuracy of results that any scaled up model provides, if compared to a successful, smaller scale version of itself, needs to be investigated. In this work a 3-D electrodeposition model of an RDE was used to conduct geometry and model sensitivity studies using a commercial software as is often done in industry. As a next step, a 3-D model of an industrial-scale electroforming reactor, which was 90 times larger in electrolyte volume compared to the RDE, was developed to compare, and identify the key model parameters during scale up. The model results were validated against experimental data collected in the laboratory for both cases to assess model validity.
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spelling doaj.art-2aaeb9be8d1148e081a52a491b2dfd4d2022-12-22T00:08:35ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Chemical Engineering2673-27182022-04-01410.3389/fceng.2022.755725755725Modelling the Scaling-Up of the Nickel Electroforming ProcessEleni AndreouSudipta RoyElectroforming is increasingly gaining recognition as a promising and sustainable additive manufacturing process of the “Industry 4.0” era. Numerous important laboratory-scale studies try to shed light onto the pressing question as to which are the best industry approaches to be followed towards the process’s optimisation. One of the most common laboratory-scale apparatus to gather electrochemical data is the rotating disk electrode (RDE). However, for electroforming to be successfully optimised and efficiently applied in industry, systematic scale up studies need to be conducted. Nowadays, well-informed simulations can provide a much-desired insight into the novelties and limits of the process, and therefore, scaling up modelling studies are of essence. Targeted investigations on how the size and geometry of an electroforming reactor can affect the final product could lead to process optimisation through simple modifications of the setup itself, allowing immediate time- and cost-effective adjustments within existing production lines. This means that the accuracy of results that any scaled up model provides, if compared to a successful, smaller scale version of itself, needs to be investigated. In this work a 3-D electrodeposition model of an RDE was used to conduct geometry and model sensitivity studies using a commercial software as is often done in industry. As a next step, a 3-D model of an industrial-scale electroforming reactor, which was 90 times larger in electrolyte volume compared to the RDE, was developed to compare, and identify the key model parameters during scale up. The model results were validated against experimental data collected in the laboratory for both cases to assess model validity.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fceng.2022.755725/fullelectroformingmodellingCOMSOL Multiphysics®nickelscaling-upadditive manufacturing
spellingShingle Eleni Andreou
Sudipta Roy
Modelling the Scaling-Up of the Nickel Electroforming Process
Frontiers in Chemical Engineering
electroforming
modelling
COMSOL Multiphysics®
nickel
scaling-up
additive manufacturing
title Modelling the Scaling-Up of the Nickel Electroforming Process
title_full Modelling the Scaling-Up of the Nickel Electroforming Process
title_fullStr Modelling the Scaling-Up of the Nickel Electroforming Process
title_full_unstemmed Modelling the Scaling-Up of the Nickel Electroforming Process
title_short Modelling the Scaling-Up of the Nickel Electroforming Process
title_sort modelling the scaling up of the nickel electroforming process
topic electroforming
modelling
COMSOL Multiphysics®
nickel
scaling-up
additive manufacturing
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fceng.2022.755725/full
work_keys_str_mv AT eleniandreou modellingthescalingupofthenickelelectroformingprocess
AT sudiptaroy modellingthescalingupofthenickelelectroformingprocess