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Additive Manufacturing and Sustainable Material Design

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2024) | Viewed by 5134

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Wei Wen

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Guest Editor

The School of Engineering, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW, UK
Interests: computational materials science; multi-scale modelling; additive manufacturing; material/processing design
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Kui Wang

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Guest Editor

School of Traffic & Transportation Engineering, Key Laboratory of Traffic Safety on Track, Central South University, Changsha 410075, China
Interests: 3D printing; fibre-reinforced polymer composites; formulation; thermo environment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Said Ahzi

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Guest Editor

ICUBE Laboratory – CNRS, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
Interests: multiscale modeling of materials behavior (polymers, metals, biomaterials, nanocomposites); microstructure-property relationship; materials processing; process modeling and simulation of microstructure evolution

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a very promising and quickly evolving technology. Besides its obvious advantages of producing low material waste and having a compact supply chain, AM provides the opportunity to develop novel material and AM processing design strategies, enabling bespoke and functional material design. As such, structural components with a lower weight and prolonged service life will be delivered to key industries, such as energy, aerospace and electronic vehicles, to essentially reduce the operational costs and CO2 emissions. New AM-related businesses, including material recycling and laser cladding for material restoration, are also emerging. Currently, the fast development of AM technology comes with both opportunities and challenges. The uniqueness and complexity of AM and the surrounding industry ecological system bring more unknowns to the scientific and industrial communities. Experts and researchers around the world are investing enormous time and effort to ensure innovation in AM technology and sustainable manufacturing industry.

This Special Issue aims to integrate new ideas, concepts, findings and experimental/modeling tools as stepping stones for further development of AM technology. Topics from sustainable material/processing design to the application of AM products in practice will be explored.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

Innovation in AM technology;
Sustainable AM material design;
AM material recycling and remanufacturing;
AM material/processing design concepts and strategies;
Processing–structure–property relationships in AM;
Post-processing and surface engineering;
AM product assessment;
Green chemical techniques for AM;
Bio-inspired 4D printing;
Multifunctional structures.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Wei Wen
Prof. Dr. Kui Wang
Prof. Dr. Said Ahzi
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. Sustainability 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 2400 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
sustainability
AM processing design
material performance evaluation
material design strategy
structural design

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 5392 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of PLA-Type and Reinforcement Content on the Mechanical Behavior of Additively Manufactured Continuous Ramie Fiber-Filled Biocomposites

by Kui Wang, Yanlu Chang, Ping Cheng, Wei Wen, Yong Peng, Yanni Rao and Said Ahzi

Sustainability 2024, 16(7), 2635; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16072635 - 22 Mar 2024

Viewed by 527

Abstract

The present work aimed to examine the tensile and flexural behaviors of biocomposites reinforced with continuous plant fibers, utilizing a range of polylactic acid (PLA) matrix materials and varying fiber content. These biocomposites were fabricated using an in situ-impregnated fused filament fabrication (FFF) technique. The study incorporated three different PLA matrix materials, namely PLA, PLA-Matte (PLA-Ma), and PLA-ST, each with distinct mechanical properties. The effect of different linear densities of continuous ramie yarns on the biocomposites was also investigated. The results show that adding continuous ramie yarn significantly enhances both the tensile and flexural strengths, as well as the modulus, of the matrixes. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between the content of ramie yarn and the increases in strength and modulus. Moreover, the introduction of ramie yarns altered the fracture behavior of the biocomposites, shifting towards brittle fracture. This change significantly impacted the fracture toughness of the matrixes and resulted in a convergence of elongation at the point of breakage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing and Sustainable Material Design)

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20 pages, 7198 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Incorporation of Defects in Finite Elements to Model Effective Mechanical Properties of Metamaterial Cells Printed by Selective Laser Melting

by Gonzalo Vera-Rodríguez, Laura Moreno-Corrales, Iván Marín-González, Daniel Barba, Francisco J. Montáns and Miguel Ángel Sanz-Gómez

Sustainability 2024, 16(3), 1167; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031167 - 30 Jan 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1036

Abstract

Additively printed mechanical metamaterial structures optimize material, energy and waste, producing more sustainable products. Their introduction in the production workflow depends on having proper tools for accurately predicting their performance. However, the additive manufacturing process incorporates significant defects which result in an important change of the effective properties of the metamaterial cell. Finite element predictions using perfect geometries and nominal base material properties result in important errors which may require excessive uncertainty-related safety design margins. This work presents a methodology to introduce the effect of the most common defects in finite element models to compute the effective mechanical response of different metamaterials printed by Selective Laser Melting. It is shown that even at elastic infinitesimal strains, the defects produce an important change in the effective mechanical capabilities of the metamaterial, which also depend on the type of the metamaterial cell studied and on the type and magnitude of defects. With the proposed methodology, which incorporates the distribution of defects in the finite element model, the predicted mechanical properties of the metamaterial better match the experimental ones. It is shown that the initial discrepancies in the order of

100 %

are reduced to an order of

5 %

. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing and Sustainable Material Design)

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15 pages, 2071 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Powder-Based Additive Manufacturing Technology

by Hossein Eskandari Sabzi and Pedro E. J. Rivera-Díaz-del-Castillo

Sustainability 2023, 15(20), 15081; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152015081 - 20 Oct 2023

Viewed by 1261

Abstract

A thorough exploration of sustainability in powder-based additive manufacturing (AM) is presented. This review focuses particularly on the design of sustainable alloys for AM. Environmental, economic, and social aspects of sustainability are covered. The importance of life cycle assessment (LCA) in evaluating environmental impact is discussed. LCA tools are used to analyse factors such as energy consumption, waste management, and air pollution, providing a comprehensive view of AM’s environmental footprint. Additionally, the economic dimension of sustainability is addressed through life cycle costing analysis. Production costs, energy use, and waste management are scrutinised, showcasing AM’s potential cost savings. Social life cycle assessment is introduced to assess societal impacts, focusing on worker welfare, community engagement, and overall societal well-being. A forward-looking concept of predicting sustainability before printing, using a product sustainability index, is presented. The approach emphasises environmentally responsible material selection, considering factors such as global warming potential in alloy design. This study offers a holistic approach to designing sustainable alloys and optimising AM processes through a sustainable materials science paradigm to establish the relationship amongst processing, microstructure, properties, sustainability, and performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing and Sustainable Material Design)

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18 pages, 6039 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Life Cycle Assessment of Composites Additive Manufacturing Using Recycled Materials

by Konstantina-Roxani Chatzipanagiotou, Despoina Antypa, Foteini Petrakli, Anna Karatza, Krzysztof Pikoń, Magdalena Bogacka, Nikolina Poranek, Sebastian Werle, Eleftherios Amanatides, Dimitrios Mataras and Elias P. Koumoulos

Sustainability 2023, 15(17), 12843; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712843 - 24 Aug 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1667

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) of composite materials is promising to create customizable products with enhanced properties, utilizing materials like carbon fibers (CFs). To increase their circularity, composite recycling has been proposed to re-introduce the recovered components in AM. A careful evaluation of recycling is necessary, considering the sustainability and functionality (i.e., mechanical properties) of the recovered components. Thus, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is applied to estimate the environmental impacts of AM via Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), using virgin or recycled CFs via solvolysis at a laboratory scale. This study aims to provide a detailed Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) of FFF and evaluate the sustainability of using recycled CFs in AM. For both virgin CF manufacturing and CF recycling, electricity consumption was the main contributor to environmental impacts. CF recovery via solvolysis resulted in lower impacts across most impact categories compared to AM with virgin CFs. Different scenarios were examined to account for the mechanical properties of recycled CFs. AM with 75% recycled CFs, compared to 100% virgin CFs undergoing landfilling, resulted in over 22% reduction in climate change potential, even after a 50% loss of recycled CF functionality. Overall, this study offers insights into the LCI of FFF and shows that CF recycling from composites is worth pursuing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing and Sustainable Material Design)

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