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Additive Manufacturing of Polymeric and Ceramic Composites

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A special issue of Journal of Composites Science (ISSN 2504-477X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2019) | Viewed by 22442

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Pavana Prabhakar

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Guest Editor

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Department of Engineering Physics (Affiliate), University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Interests: damage and failure mechanics of composites; life prediction of materials in extreme environment; additive manufacturing; process modeling; multiscale material modeling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Additive manufacturing (AM), also colloquially referred to as 3D printing, has recently gained prominence as a potential replacement for traditional manufacturing techniques. The unceasing growth of AM has provided the flexibility for the creation of novel and innovative designs by relieving designers and engineers of fabrication constraints for a range of material systems that include plastics, metals, ceramics, and composites. These technologies are particularly attractive because of their capability of creating near-net-shape complex parts, while eliminating or reducing the costs associated with traditional fabrication techniques like tooling and fixtures. Hence, the widespread adoption of AM by the industry can be beneficial thanks to a drastic reduction in production costs.

In particular, it is envisioned that AM can play an important role in the manufacturing of lightweight composites that are extensively used in the aerospace, automotive, aerospace, and medical industries. In spite of the benefits of additive manufacturing, embracing these processes by the industry is impeded by the limited understanding of this relatively nascent technology. Specifically, the existence of a large number of process parameters that can affect the final form of a manufactured material and the lack of robust certification have crippled their ubiquitous acceptance. Therefore, in-depth experimental investigations and computational modeling efforts are required to enable additive manufacturing for lightweight composites.

The main aim of this Special Issue is to collect various recent developments in cutting-edge research for enabling additive manufacturing processes for lightweight polymeric and ceramic composites. Papers presenting investigations of various existing and novel additive processes for lightweight 3D printed composite products and materials are welcome. In addition, studies that focus on the influence of process parameters on the mechanical properties, durability, and damage tolerance are welcome. Researchers who are modeling and simulating additive processes as well as those performing experimental studies involving printed composites are encouraged to submit papers. Authors are also encouraged to present new models, constitutive laws, failure theories, measurement and monitoring techniques to provide a complete framework on these additive processes and facilitate their use in different engineering applications.

Dr. Pavana Prabhakar
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Composites Science is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Composite Materials
Additive Manufacturing
Computational Modeling
Experimental Studies
Failure Theories
Process Modeling
Damage and Durability
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF)
Polymer Composites
Ceramic Composites
Interlayer Filament Fusion

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 5007 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development and Mechanical Properties of Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene for In-Space Manufacturing Applications

by Natalie Coughlin, Bradley Drake, Mikala Fjerstad, Easton Schuster, Tyler Waege, Adrian Weerakkody and Todd Letcher

J. Compos. Sci. 2019, 3(3), 89; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs3030089 - 05 Sep 2019

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5608

Abstract

A new basalt fiber reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) filament has been developed for fused filament fabrication (FFF, 3D printing) to be used in Mars habitat construction. Building habitats on Mars will be expensive, especially if all material must be shipped from earth. However, if some materials can be used from Mars, costs will dramatically decrease. Basalt is easily mined from the surface of Mars. This study details the production process of the material, experimental results from mechanical testing, and preliminary X-ray shielding characteristics. The addition of chopped 3 mm basalt fibers to standard FFF material, ABS, increased strength and stiffness of the composite material. By adding 25% (by weight) basalt fiber to ABS, tensile strength improved nearly 40% by increasing from 36.55 MPa to 50.58 MPa, while Modulus of Elasticity increased about 120% from 2.15 GPa to 4.79 GPa. Flexural strength increased by about 20% from 56.94 MPa to 68.51 MPa, while Flexural Modulus increased by about 70% from 1.81 GPa to 3.05 GPa. While compression results did not see much strength improvements, the addition of fibers also did not decrease compressive strength. This is important when considering that basalt fibers provide radiation shielding and the cost of adding basalt fibers to construction materials on Mars will be negligible compared to the cost of shipping other materials from earth. In preliminary digital radiography testing, it was shown that 77% of X-rays were shielded with 25% basalt fiber added (as compared to neat ABS). In small-scale 3D printing applications, the 25% fiber ratio seems to be the highest ratio that provides reliable FFF printing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Polymeric and Ceramic Composites)

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13 pages, 4506 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fiber-Reinforced Composite Sandwich Structures by Co-Curing with Additive Manufactured Epoxy Lattices

by Johannes Austermann, Alec J. Redmann, Vera Dahmen, Adam L. Quintanilla, Sue J. Mecham and Tim A. Osswald

J. Compos. Sci. 2019, 3(2), 53; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs3020053 - 16 May 2019

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 6308

Abstract

In this paper, a new process of joining additive manufactured (AM) lattice structures and carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRPs) to manufacture hybrid lattice sandwich structures without secondary bonding is investigated. Multiple variations of lattice structures are designed and 3D printed using Digital Light Synthesis (DLS) and a two-stage (B-stage) epoxy resin system. The resulting lattice structures are only partially cured and subsequently thermally co-cured with pre-impregnated carbon fiber reinforcement. The mechanical properties of the additive manufactured lattice structures are characterized by compressive tests. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of hybrid lattice sandwich structures are assessed by flexural beam testing. From compressive testing of the additive manufactured lattice structures, high specific strength can be ascertained. The mechanical behavior shows these lattice structures to be suitable for use as sandwich core materials. Flexural beam testing of hybrid lattice sandwich structures shows high strength and stiffness. Furthermore, the strength of the co-cured bond interface is high enough to surpass the strength of the lattice core. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Polymeric and Ceramic Composites)

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8 pages, 1571 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Validating a Failure Surface Developed for ABS Fused Filament Fabrication Parts through Complex Loading Experiments

by Gerardo A. Mazzei Capote, Alec Redmann and Tim A. Osswald

J. Compos. Sci. 2019, 3(2), 49; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs3020049 - 10 May 2019

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3023

Abstract

Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) is arguably the most widely available additive manufacturing technology at the moment. Offering the possibility of producing complex geometries in a compressed product development cycle and in a plethora of materials, it has gradually started to become attractive to multiple industrial segments, slowly being implemented in diverse applications. However, the high anisotropy of parts developed through this technique renders failure prediction difficult. The proper performance of the part, or even the safety of the final user, cannot be guaranteed under demanding mechanical requirements. This problem can be tackled through the development of a failure envelope that allows engineers to predict failure by using the knowledge of the stress state of the part. Previous research by the authors developed a failure envelope for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) based, Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) parts by use of a criterion that incorporates stress interactions. This work validates the first quadrant of the envelope by performing uniaxial tensile tests with coupons produced with a variety of raster angles, creating a combined loading stress state in the localized coordinate system. Results show the safe zone encompassed by the failure envelope proved adequate. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Polymeric and Ceramic Composites)

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Review

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25 pages, 3210 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Composite Reinforcement Architectures: A Review of Field-Assisted Additive Manufacturing for Polymers

by Madhuparna Roy, Phong Tran, Tarik Dickens and Amanda Schrand

J. Compos. Sci. 2020, 4(1), 1; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs4010001 - 18 Dec 2019

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 6981

Abstract

The demand for additively manufactured polymer composites with increased specific properties and functional microstructure has drastically increased over the past decade. The ability to manufacture complex designs that can maximize strength while reducing weight in an automated fashion has made 3D-printed composites a popular research target in the field of engineering. However, a significant amount of understanding and basic research is still necessary to decode the fundamental process mechanisms of combining enhanced functionality and additively manufactured composites. In this review, external field-assisted additive manufacturing techniques for polymer composites are discussed with respect to (1) self-assembly into complex microstructures, (2) control of fiber orientation for improved interlayer mechanical properties, and (3) incorporation of multi-functionalities such as electrical conductivity, self-healing, sensing, and other functional capabilities. A comparison between reinforcement shapes and the type of external field used to achieve mechanical property improvements in printed composites is addressed. Research has shown the use of such materials in the production of parts exhibiting high strength-to-weight ratio for use in aerospace and automotive fields, sensors for monitoring stress and conducting electricity, and the production of flexible batteries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Polymeric and Ceramic Composites)

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