Collaborative Research: Environmental Sustainability of Additive Manufacturing Processes: Bridging Geometry and Life Cycle Inventory

1605472/1604825赵，傅/李，林在过去的十年里，加法制造(AM)工艺的学术成果和工业应用迅速增长。如今，人们对AM的兴趣在继续增长。虽然减少对环境的影响被认为是主要优势之一，但使用广为接受的生命周期评估(LCA)方法对AM过程的环境性能进行严格评估的努力非常有限，针对过程改进的研究更是少之又少。这项研究的首要目标是促进对产品设计如何影响典型AM工艺的能源/材料消耗和空气排放的理解。如果成功，这项研究将跨越几何和生命周期清单(LCI)，为AM过程的LCA提供急需的数据基础，并进一步探索重新设计AM过程和设备的机会，以减少对环境的影响。这项研究将由普渡大学和伊利诺伊大学芝加哥分校(UIC)的生命周期评估、添加剂制造、制造过程建模和污染预防方面的专家组成。将共同开展四项研究工作：(1)物质流动模拟和原料化学成分分析；(2)能源消耗模拟；(3)空气排放表征和量化；(4)AM工艺和设备的重新设计，以改善环境性能。研究结果将在实验室和工业环境中得到验证。这项研究是一项使用生命周期评价方法系统地评估新出现的AM过程的环境影响的努力，特别关注单元过程级别的LCI。该项目将促进对与四个具有代表性的AM工艺相关的物质/能量流动和空气排放的了解。所提出的LCI模型能够预测对环境有重要意义的库存流动，而只需要最少的实验工作。这项研究致力于将AM工艺的几何形状和LCI联系起来，以指导AM设备和工艺的设计和开发，以增强环境的可持续性。更深入地了解由于颗粒物和挥发性有机化合物引起的能源消耗、原料组成和职业危害风险，可以为设计人员、制造商和政府机构提供指导方针，以保护劳动力并减少AM工艺的环境足迹。这反过来将加速AM的更大规模技术采用，并为美国制造业在全球市场上提供可持续发展方面的竞争优势。研究成果将通过期刊论文、会议演示、在线演示和产业合作广泛传播。教育活动将加强工程和环境领域对添加剂制造的高级生命周期分析的认识。研究成果将被纳入伊利诺伊大学芝加哥分校和普渡大学的研究生和本科课程，以积极影响工程教育。

1605472 / 1604825Zhao, Fu / Li, Lin The past decade has seen a rapid proliferation of academic achievements and industrial applications of additive manufacturing (AM) processes. Today the interest in AM continues to grow. Although reducing environmental impact is considered among the main advantages, very limited efforts have been made to rigorously evaluate the environmental performance of AM processes using the well-accepted life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology; also, even less studies are oriented toward process improvement. The overarching goal of this research is to advance understanding on how product design affects energy/material consumption and air emissions of representative AM processes. If successful, this research will bridge geometry and life cycle inventory (LCI), which provides much needed data foundation for LCA of AM processes and furthermore, enables the exploration of opportunities to re-design AM process and equipment for smaller environmental impacts. The research will be undertaken by a team consisting of experts in life cycle assessment, additive manufacturing, manufacturing process modeling, and pollution prevention at the Purdue University and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Four research tasks will be jointly pursued: (1) Material flow modeling and feedstock chemical composition analysis, (2) Energy consumption modeling, (3) Air emission characterization and quantification, and (4) AM process and equipment redesign for improved environmental performance. The research findings will be verified in both laboratory and industrial settings. The research is an effort to systematically evaluate the environmental impacts of the emerging AM processes using LCA methodology, with particular focus on unit process level LCI. The project will advance understanding of the material/energy flow and air emissions associated with four representative AM processes. The proposed LCI model is capable of predicting inventory flows of environmental significance while requiring only minimal experimental efforts. The research is an effort to bridge geometry and LCI of AM processes, which can guide the design and development of AM equipment and processes for enhanced environmental sustainability. Deeper understanding on energy consumption, feedstock material composition, and occupation hazard risk due to particulate matters and volatile organic compounds can provide guidelines for designers, manufacturers, and government agencies to safeguard workforce and reduce environmental footprints of AM processes. This will in turn accelerate the larger scale technology adoption of AM, and offer a competitive edge regarding sustainability to the U.S. manufacturing sector in the global market. Research results will be broadly disseminated through journal papers, conference presentations, online demonstrations, and industrial collaboration. The educational activities will strengthen the awareness of advanced life cycle analysis on additive manufacturing in engineering and environmental fields. Research results will be incorporated into both graduate and undergraduate courses at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Purdue University to positively impact engineering education.