{"project":{"acronym":"","projectId":91552,"title":"Reinforcement of 3D Printed Nanocomposite Materials Using Ultrasound Alignment of Carbon Nanotubes","primaryTaxonomyNodes":[{"taxonomyNodeId":10880,"taxonomyRootId":8816,"parentNodeId":10879,"level":3,"code":"TX12.4.1","title":"Manufacturing Processes","definition":"This area covers innovative physical manufacturing processes for rapid production, reduced cost, increase accuracy, and defect reduction.","exampleTechnologies":"Additive manufacturing of metallics and nanofiber/fiber /ceramic matrix based composites, especially for large structures; in-space fabrication, assembly and repair; advanced casting and injection molding of metal components, including amorphous metals, metal matrix composites and high-strength aluminum alloys; advanced subtractive manufacturing processes including wire-Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM), water jetting and surface finishing; advanced laminate or sheet metal fabrication.","hasChildren":false,"hasInteriorContent":true}],"startTrl":2,"currentTrl":3,"endTrl":3,"benefits":"
Alignment techniques, ultrasound alignment can be scaled to large areas and it does not restrict the final material shape. In addition, the nanoscale reinforcement could also be used to provide other functionality to the materials, including conductivity, electromagnetic shielding, or other thermal and electric properties. These composite materials attempt to take advantage of the unique properties of nanostructures in macroscale engineering applications. By creating a novel method to create high-strength nanocomposite structures with complex geometries, this research will result in significant advances in the fields of polymer matrix composite and in-space assembly, fabrication and repair research.
","description":"The objective of this proposal is to understand how ultrasound waves can be used to create user-defined patterns of nanoparticles in a photopolymer resin, which will then be cured using a stereolithography 3D printing process. 3D printing is an attractive method to manufacture prototypes because highly complex geometries can be created with a single device and limited additional processing. This is especially appealing for space exploration and extraterrestrial colonization, where it is expensive and technically difficult to deliver parts from Earth, but on-site manufacturing capabilities are limited. The critical obstacle that prevents 3D printed polymer parts from being used as actual mechanical components in engineering applications, is their lack of mechanical strength. To increase this strength, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) will be added to the polymer, aligned in patterns tailored to maximize the strength of the part, based on the anticipated mechanical loading of the part. Alignment will be achieved by creating ultrasound standing waves, which exert an acoustic radiation force on the nanoparticles, driving them to desired locations. In contrast to other CNT alignment techniques, ultrasound alignment can be scaled to large areas and it does not restrict the final material shape. In addition, the nanoscale reinforcement could also be used to provide other functionality to the materials, including conductivity, electromagnetic shielding, or other thermal and electric properties. These composite materials attempt to take advantage of the unique properties of nanostructures in macroscale engineering applications. By creating a novel method to create high-strength nanocomposite structures with complex geometries, this research will result in significant advances in the fields of polymer matrix composite and in-space assembly, fabrication and repair research. This project will involve: (1) development of the ultrasound alignment technique within polymer; (2) integration of the ultrasound alignment and stereolithography into a single device, capable of creating 3D printed nanocomposite structures; and (3) analysis of the effects of aligned CNT reinforcement on the mechanical performance of the parts.
","startYear":2015,"startMonth":8,"endYear":2017,"endMonth":12,"statusDescription":"Completed","principalInvestigators":[{"contactId":38954,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Bart","lastName":"Raeymaekers","fullName":"Bart Raeymaekers","fullNameInverted":"Raeymaekers, Bart","publicEmail":false,"nacontact":false}],"programDirectors":[{"contactId":84634,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Claudia","lastName":"Meyer","fullName":"Claudia M Meyer","fullNameInverted":"Meyer, Claudia M","middleInitial":"M","primaryEmail":"claudia.m.meyer@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programExecutives":[{"contactId":84634,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Claudia","lastName":"Meyer","fullName":"Claudia M Meyer","fullNameInverted":"Meyer, Claudia M","middleInitial":"M","primaryEmail":"claudia.m.meyer@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programManagers":[{"contactId":183514,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Hung","lastName":"Nguyen","fullName":"Hung D Nguyen","fullNameInverted":"Nguyen, Hung D","middleInitial":"D","primaryEmail":"hung.d.nguyen@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"projectManagers":[{"contactId":140078,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Emilie","lastName":"Siochi","fullName":"Emilie J Siochi","fullNameInverted":"Siochi, Emilie J","middleInitial":"J","primaryEmail":"emilie.j.siochi@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"coInvestigators":[{"contactId":226584,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"john","lastName":"greenhall","fullName":"John Greenhall","fullNameInverted":"Greenhall, John","primaryEmail":"john.greenhall@utah.edu","publicEmail":false,"nacontact":false}],"website":"https://www.nasa.gov/strg#.VQb6T0jJzyE","libraryItems":[],"transitions":[{"transitionId":75808,"projectId":91552,"transitionDate":"2017-12-01","path":"Closed Out","details":"Engineered materials consisting of a polymer resin matrix reinforced with microstructures consisting of patterns of nano- or microparticles, are of interest to the scientific community because they could potentially mark a paradigm shift in the mechanical performance of lightweight materials [1]. In addition, controlling the nano- or microstructure could also be used to provide other functionality to the materials, including electrical conductivity [2], electromagnetic shielding [3], or tailored thermal properties [4]. These engineered materials exhibit unique macroscale physical properties based on the specific material type, geometry, and spatial arrangement of the nano- or microparticles. The critical science problem that inhibits mass processing and manufacturing of these engineered materials for macroscale engineering applications is the scalable alignment and patterning of large amounts of nano- or microparticles in the polymer resin material. Manufacturing engineered materials consisting of patterns of nano- or microparticles embedded in a matrix material has been achieved via three different categories of techniques. Subtractive techniques such as focused-ion beam milling enable fabricating features with ultrafine resolution (<100 nm) [5,6]. Since each feature must be individually created, the technique requires long fabrication times and, thus, limits dimensional scalability of the material specimens. Additive techniques such as interference lithography and nanoimprint lithography enable rapid patterning of features over large (≤ 1 cm2) areas, but only work for a limited selection of materials and are typically restricted to organizing 2D patterns of features, thus constraining the material properties that can be tailored [6–8]. Alternatively, directed self-assembly (DSA) techniques including templated DSA, template-free DSA, and external field DSA techniques based on electric and magnetic fields have been used to organize user-specified patterns of nano- or microparticles [9]. However, templated DSA is not dimensionally scalable due to template sizes on the order of nanometers or micrometers. Template-free DSA techniques only work with a limited selection of patterns of particles, which limits the material properties that can be tailored. Electric and magnetic field DSA techniques require ultrahigh amplitude fields and require conductive and ferromagnetic particles, thus, limiting the scalability and particle material choice. As such, existing manufacturing techniques are constrained by material choice, the patterns of particles or features that can be fabricated, long fabrication times, dimensional scalability, and/or limited control of the macroscale geometry of the material specimen. In contrast, ultrasound DSA employs the acoustic radiation force associated with an ultrasound wave field to assemble patterns of particles independent of the particle material properties [10,11]. Also, ultrasound DSA is scalable because it does not require a high amplitude ultrasound wave field to organize patterns of particles in low-viscosity (bulk and shear) fluids [12]. Combining ultrasound DSA with photo-curing enables organizing patterns of particles within a thin layer of liquid photopolymer resin, which is subsequently photo-cured to polymerize the resin and fixate the pattern of particles in place. Only simple 2D materials have been demonstrated using ultrasound DSA with photo-curing based on a laser that traces the desired specimen geometry, which limits implementing the materials in engineering applications that require 3D material structures [13–15]. The scientific objective of the research is to test the hypothesis that ultrasound DSA, can be integrated with stereolithography as an additive manufacturing process to 3D print polymer resin matrix engineered materials layer-by-layer using stereolithography, where each layer contains a user-specified pattern of particles organized via ultrasound directed self-assembly. While this process will serve as a platform technology that enables manufacturing of multi-functional materials, in this research we focus on enhancing only the mechanical and electrical properties of the engineered materials. We have modeled the dynamics of fibers in an ultrasound wave field. This model enables simulating the ultrasound directed self-assembly process, and provides proof-ofconcept that the process can be used to organize patterns of aligned fibers in liquid polymer, which is necessary for creating engineered materials containing patterns of aligned fibers. We have derived a new technique for organizing user-specified patterns of fibers via ultrasound DSA. In contrast with existing ultrasound DSA methods, our ultrasound DSA technqiue works for any feasible user-specified pattern of fibers and for a reservoir of arbitrary geometry and ultrasound transducer arrangement, thus providing a more universal solution technique. As a result, our ultrasound DSA technique enables tailoring the microstructure and, thus, the physical properties of engineered materials by organizing fibers into user-specified patterns. Additionally, this work has resulted in one journal article published in Applied Physics Letters [25], one journal article published in The Journal of Applied Physics [26], and one conference presentation at the Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America [27]. We have demonstrated, for the first time, a manufacturing process that integrates ultrasound DSA with SLA to 3D print multilayer engineered materials with arbitrary macroscale geometry and user-specified microstructure, which enables tailoring the physical properties of the materials. This manufacturing process enables rapid manufacturing of engineered materials for a broad range of applications, including multi-functional composite materials, acoustic and electromagnetic cloaking, and subwavelength imaging. Additionally, this work has resulted in a journal publication in Advanced Materials Technologies [15]. From this task, we have gained a technique for identifying fibers within a microscope image. This enables characterizing the microstructure of engineered materials containing embedded patterns of fibers to provide a link between the microstructure of an engineered material and the resulting unique physical properties. 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