Internship: Producing recycled powders from CRMs’ secondary resources for AM or MRO activities

Background

The aviation sector relies heavily on Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) such as aluminium, titanium and nickel alloys. However, the supply of these materials is limited, and their extraction has a significant environmental impact. Thus, the EU is investing in circular economy strategies to reduce CO2 emissions and ensure the availability of CRMs, by adopting sustainable practices such as remanufacturing, reusing, and recycling materials. Secondary resources are favourable to reduce reliance on primary extraction and minimize waste. Additive Manufacturing and Cold Spray can reduce dependencies on CRMs, prolong material lifetimes, and enable in-house part repair.

As a student, you have the opportunity to contribute to the development of circular economy loop for the aviation sector and you will learn from NLR experts how to use state-of-the-art equipment, prepare and analyse material/coupons based on aviation requirements.

Assignment

Your assignment will focus on upscaling 3D printing manufacturing (e.g. Directed Energy Deposition, or Laser Powder Bed Fusion) of re-milled scrap chips from 500g feed to 1-2L, with the goal of producing specimens for corrosion, creep, mechanical, and fatigue testing. The project involves the following steps:

1. Milling of AlSi10Mg, Ti6Al4V, and Inconel 718 to produce re-milled scrap powders for AM;

2. Powder Characterization: Analysis of the milled powders' morphology, particle size distribution, porosity and flowability;

3. Manufacturing of Coupons: Learning by our experts how Directed Energy Deposition (DED) or/and Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) is performed to produce coupons for testing (corrosion tensile, fatigue, creep tests, aging tests).

Result

The desired outcome of this assignment is to successfully upscale the 3D printing process of re-milled scrap, enabling the production of high-quality specimens for material testing.

Duration

3-6 months, starting from July 2026 – September/December 2026.

Profile

• Master student Aerospace Engineering or Materials Engineering;

• Experience in material’s characterization (particle size distribution, morphology, porosity);

• Background on AM technologies and MRO technologies, with an interest in circularity;

• Assertive and self-motivated, able to be part of the project team and also proceed individually.

What we offer

• A challenging graduation project/internship in a high-tech result orientated work environment;

• Weekly supervision and availability of the technical staff for support;

• An internship allowance;

• Working in an actual R&D project as part of the team;

• Internship results to be used in the current and future projects.

About NLR

Royal NLR has been the ambitious research organisation with the will to keep innovating for over 100 years. With that drive, we make the world of transportation safer, more sustainable, more efficient and more effective. We are on the threshold of breakthrough innovations. Plans and ideas start to move when these are fed with the right energy. Over 1000 driven professionals work on research and innovation. From aircraft engineers to psychologists and from mathematicians to application experts.

Our colleagues are happy to tell you what it’s like to work at NLR.

Interested?

Send your application, together with your motivation letter and CV via the “apply” button.

Do you have any questions? Send an email to Marianna.Panou@nlr.nl and we will contact you as soon as possible.