SBIR Phase I: Rapid and scalable production of high-performance 3-dimensional foam cores

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to reduce the weight and increase the efficiency of today's ground vehicles. Replacing steel with structural composites, a foam core wrapped in carbon fiber and resin, is a key strategy to reduce vehicular structural weight and to increase efficiency and safety. Current foam cores often exhibit low performance and are costly to produce for non-planar designs. As a result, three-dimensional cored composites remain cost-prohibitive for mass-manufactured automobiles and relegated to niche, high-performance vehicles. Improving core performance and fabrication processes will unlock high volume manufacturing of structural composites and enable manufacturers to increase the efficiency of their fleet by up to 40% throughout the next decade. Such a step-improvement in manufacturability can also accelerate urban air mobility vehicles and electric aircraft development and deployment.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will support the development of a novel, high throughput additive manufacturing technology for three-dimensional, thermosetting polymer foam parts featuring unique, specific mechanical properties (strength-to-weight or stiffness-to-weight ratios). Combining a unique 3D printing nozzle for thermosetting polymers, material science, and robotics enables unlocking on-demand and the rapid production of net shape, complex foam parts to be incorporated into existing supply chains. The project will develop and test novel resin formulations, optimize material synthesis and deposition, and enable the control of foam microstructure in situ. Using this latter feature, coupled with topology-optimization software, the project will produce the first foam metamaterials. These unique metamaterials will be mechanically and thermally tested using American Society for Testing and Materials standards to ensure the processing meets industry standards.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.