Additively manufactured non-uniform porous materials and components in-situ with fully material, and related methods, systems and computer program product

An additive manufacturing method, the method steps comprising:

• determining a desired non-uniform porosity profile across an injector to be manufactured for a rocket engine, said injector comprising a porous disk and a fully dense exterior, said porous disk further comprising a porous region and a denser region;
• calculating and programming for the desired porosity profile, based at least on particle size and materials characteristics of powder in a powder source, energy source settings, laser settings, and a build profile for the injector to be manufactured;
• covering a surface with the powder from the powder source;
• scanning selectively the energy with the laser settings and the build profile at least once across the powder to at least partially melt the powder exposed to the energy to form fully dense wire-like lines and at least partially sinter the powder between the wire-like lines to form the porous region and at least partially bind the powder with prior layers and adjacent areas;
• and
• repeating the covering and scanning steps to build the injector layer by layer until a lattice-like structure of pore channels forms from the wire-like lines creating channel walls with the at least partially sintered powder inside the pore channels,
• wherein the step of scanning creates the porous region in the injector at first energy source settings and a first build profile, a denser region in the injector at second energy source settings and a second build profile, and the fully dense exterior,
• a full penetration mechanically bonded interface between each of the porous region, the denser region, and the fully dense region, and
• wherein the build profile informs the step of scanning to make non-overlapping passes to create the wire-like lines in a layer in a first direction and in one or more successive iterations of the scanning step to make wire-like lines in at least a second direction at an angle to the lines in the first direction creating a tortuosity of the pore channels capable of controlling or dampening fluid flow in the pore channels.