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Additive Manufacturing of Smart Polymers and Composites

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Manufacturing Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2024 | Viewed by 5207

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Denise Bellisario

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Guest Editor

Economy Faculty, Universitas Mercatorum, 00186 Rome, Italy
Interests: material extrusion additive manufacturing; fiber composites processing and testing; smart polymers and composites; hybrid and nano-composites; smart material processing; surface treatments

Prof. Dr. Quadrini Fabrizio

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Guest Editor

Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’, 00133 Rome, Italy
Interests: smart composites; space sustainability; polymer processing; circular economy; additive manufacturing; space materials and structures

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Currently, additive manufacturing is the conceptual counterpart of molding and subtractive production techniques, but it also describes a technological paradigm that is capable of subverting, at all levels, the approach to the entire life cycle of products. This is made possible by the constant research on technologies, materials, and the simulation of new materials currently associated with additive technologies. Polymer-based materials and, even more so, nano- and fiber-reinforced composites with smart, hybrid, and multifunctional characteristics have gained high interest due to increasingly different areas of application in medical, aerospace, and automotive sectors thanks to new shape evolutions related to 3D printing.

The integration of these two research fronts expands the panorama with the opportunity to include specific features, smart functions, and hybridization both in the manufacturing phase and in the development of the material associated with it. Therefore, the optimization of printing parameters according to the material or the possibility of creating multi-material layers, with long fiber reinforcements or smart functions or with the possibility of hybridization, is still the subject of numerous studies. With this in mind, we encourage researchers to submit papers for inclusion in this Special Issue. The topic themes include polymer and composite AM development, polymer-based composite deposition, multi-material deposition, in situ functionalization, process optimization for smart materials and composites, advanced strategies to improve polymer or polymer composite bonding/strength, new deposition approaches, new evaluation techniques for polymers and composites produced for additive manufacturing, and polymer-based smart additively manufactured parts.

Prof. Dr. Denise Bellisario
Dr. Quadrini Fabrizio
Guest Editors

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. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2600 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

additive manufacturing
3D printing polymers
3D printing composites
multi-material additive manufacturing
fiber-composites deposition
AM smart materials
smart additively manufactured parts
testing of smart AM parts
AM modeling

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 3405 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Valorization of Agro-Wastes as Fillers in PLA-Based Biocomposites for Increasing Sustainability in Fused Deposition Modeling Additive Manufacturing

by Niccolò Giani, Emanuele Maccaferri, Tiziana Benelli, Marco Bovo, Daniele Torreggiani, Enrico Gianfranco Campari, Patrizia Tassinari, Loris Giorgini and Laura Mazzocchetti

Materials 2024, 17(6), 1421; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17061421 - 20 Mar 2024

Viewed by 588

Abstract

The use of wheat middlings (WM) and rice husks (RH) as biofillers for mixing with poly(lactic acid) (PLA) matrix to produce new 3D-printable biocomposites was assessed. Filaments containing 10 and 20 wt.% agro-waste-derived biofillers were manufactured and, for the sake of comparison, filaments of neat PLA were also produced. The obtained filaments were characterized via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), showing potential for further application in additive manufacturing processing. Three-dimensionally printed specimens were thus produced and characterized via: DSC, also evaluating the specific heat capacity (CP) of specific 3D-printed specimens; dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), also applied for determining the coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CLTE) measured on 3D-printed specimens in two different directions (X and Y); and tensile tests. The latter testing campaign was carried out along three printing directions (X, Y, and Z axes) to test the intrinsic biocomposite features (X-printed samples) as well as interbead and interlayer adhesion (Y- and Z-printed specimens, respectively). All samples demonstrated acceptable properties. The inclusion of a cost-free natural material leads to a strong reduction of the whole material cost. Implementing this new class of composite material to an additive manufacturing technique can significantly reduce the environmental impact of 3D-printed products. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Smart Polymers and Composites)

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13 pages, 6734 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Eco-Friendly and Innovative Approach in Building Engineering: The Production of Cement–Glass Composite Bricks with Recycled Polymeric Reinforcements

by Marcin Małek, Janusz Kluczyński, Katarzyna Jasik, Emil Kardaszuk, Ireneusz Szachogłuchowicz, Jakub Łuszczek, Janusz Torzewski, Krzysztof Grzelak and Ireneusz Ewiak

Materials 2024, 17(3), 704; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17030704 - 01 Feb 2024

Viewed by 958

Abstract

Cementitious–glass composite bricks (CGCBs) with 3D-printed reinforcement structures made of PET-G could be an innovative production method that relies on recycling glass waste (78%) and PET-G (8%). These bricks offer a promising solution for the construction industry, which has a significant impact on climate change due to its greenhouse gas emissions and extensive use of natural aggregates. The approach presented in this article serves as an alternative to using conventional building materials that are not only costlier but also less environmentally friendly. The conducted research included mechanical tests using digital image correlation (DIC), utilized for measuring deformations in specimens subjected to three-point bending and compression tests, as well as thermal investigations covering measurements of their thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and specific heat. The results highlighted the superior thermal properties of the CGCBs with PET-G reinforcements compared to traditional cementitious–glass mortar (CGM). The CGCBs exhibited a 12% lower thermal conductivity and a 17% lower specific heat. Additionally, the use of specially designed reinforcement substantially enhanced the mechanical properties of the bricks. There was a remarkable 72% increase in flexural strength in the vertical direction and a 32% increase in the horizontal direction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Smart Polymers and Composites)

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26 pages, 46098 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Methodological Framework for Assessing the Influence of Process Parameters on Strand Stability and Functional Performance in Fused Filament Fabrication

by Eleni Gkartzou, Artemis Kontiza, Konstantinos Zafeiris, Elena Mantzavinou and Costas A. Charitidis

Materials 2023, 16(24), 7530; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16247530 - 06 Dec 2023

Viewed by 769

Abstract

With an ever-increasing material and design space available for Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) technology, fabrication of complex three-dimensional structures with functional performance offers unique opportunities for product customization and performance-driven design. However, ensuring the quality and functionality of FFF-printed parts remains a significant challenge, as material-, process-, and system-level factors introduce variability and potentially hinder the translation of bulk material properties in the respective FFF counterparts. To this end, the present study presents a methodological framework for assessing the influence of process parameters on FFF strand stability and functional performance through a systematic analysis of FFF structural elements (1D stacks of FFF strands and 3D blocks), in terms of dimensional deviation from nominal geometry and resistivity, corresponding to the printability and functionality attributes, respectively. The influence of printing parameters on strand stability was investigated in terms of dimensional accuracy and surface morphology, employing optical microscopy and micro-computed tomography (mCT) for dimensional deviation analysis. In parallel, electrical resistance measurements were carried out to assess the effect of different process parameter combinations and toolpath patterns on functional performance. In low-level structural elements, strand height (H) was found to induce the greatest influence on FFF strand dimensional accuracy and resistivity, with higher H values leading to a reduction in resistivity of up to 38% in comparison with filament feedstock; however, this occurred at the cost of increased dimensional deviation. At higher structural levels, the overall effect of process parameters was found to be less pronounced, indicating that the translation of 1D strand properties to 3D blocks is subject to a trade-off due to competing mechanisms that facilitate/hinder current flow. Overall, the proposed framework enables the quantification of the influence of process parameters on the selected response variables, contributing to the development of standard operating procedures and recommendations for selecting optimal process parameters to achieve the desired process stability and functional performance in FFF. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Smart Polymers and Composites)

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16 pages, 8590 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Modeling of Mechanical Behavior of Functionally Graded Polylactic Acid–Acrylonitrile Benzidine Styrene Produced via Fused Deposition Modeling: Experimental Observations

by Caglar Sevim, Umut Caliskan, Munise Didem Demirbas, Safa Ekrikaya and Mustafa Kemal Apalak

Materials 2023, 16(14), 5177; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16145177 - 23 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 935

Abstract

Functionally graded materials (FGM) have attracted considerable attention in the field of composite materials and rekindled interest in research on composite materials due to their unique mechanical response achieved through material design and optimization. Compared to conventional composites, FGMs offer several advantages and exceptional properties, including improved deformation resistance, improved toughness, lightness properties, and excellent recoverability. This study focused on the production of functionally graded (FG) polymer materials by the additive manufacturing (AM) method. FG structures were produced by the fused deposition modeling (FDM) method using acrylonitrile benzidine styrene (ABS) and polylactic acid (PLA) materials, and tensile tests were performed according to ASTM D638. The effects of different layer thicknesses, volume ratios, and total thicknesses on mechanical behavior were investigated. The tensile standard of materials produced by additive manufacturing introduces geometric differences. Another motivation in this study is to reveal the differences between the results according to the ASTM standard. In addition, tensile tests were carried out by producing single-layer samples at certain volume ratios to create a numerical model with the finite element method to verify the experimental data. As a result of this study, it is presented that the FG structure produced with FDM improves mechanical behavior. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Smart Polymers and Composites)

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Review

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16 pages, 2506 KiB

Open AccessReview

3D Printing of Layered Structures of Metal-Ionic Polymers: Recent Progress, Challenges and Opportunities

by Angelo Martinelli, Andrea Nitti, Riccardo Po and Dario Pasini

Materials 2023, 16(15), 5327; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16155327 - 28 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1061

Abstract

Layered Structures of Metal Ionic Polymers, or Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites (IPMCs) are formed by a membrane of an ionic electroactive materials flanked by two metal electrodes on both surfaces; they are devices able to change their shape upon application of an electrical external stimulus. This class of materials is used in various fields such as biomedicine, soft robotics, and sensor technology because of their favorable properties (light weight, biocompatibility, fast response to stimulus and good flexibility). With additive manufacturing, actuators can be customized and tailored to specific applications, allowing for the optimization of performance, size, and weight, thus reducing costs and time of fabrication and enhancing functionality and efficiency in various applications. In this review, we present an overview of the newest trend in using different 3D printing techniques to produce electrically responsive IPMC devices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Smart Polymers and Composites)

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