ERI: Fused Filament Fabrication of Thermoplastic-Composite Molds Embedded with Heating Wires for Energy-Efficient Production of Thermoset Composites

ERI：嵌入加热丝的热塑性复合材料模具的熔丝制造，用于热固性复合材料的节能生产

• 批准号: 2301925
• 负责人: Kazi Md Masum Billah
• 金额: $ 19.95万
• 依托单位: University of Houston - Clear Lake
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-06-01 至 2025-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2301925&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ERI; Fused; Filament; Fabrication; Thermoplastic

High-performance polymer composites are attractive for many lightweight and reinforced-structure applications as an alternative to metallic parts. However, the associated cost with composite manufacturing, more specifically, the extensive cost of mold-making and mold heating do limit their large-scale production. The traditional autoclave heating of a mold requires tooling assembly and a relatively long lead time, which add up the manufacturing cost and pose significant challenges to widespread adoption. This Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) award supports fundamental research to understand additive manufacturing (AM) of thermoplastic-composite out-of-oven molds to make thermoset composites. The research effort will develop and integrate a lower-cost tool that enables the deposition of heating wires within parts made by fused filament fabrication (FFF), in the presence of a nonpolar solvent, to fabricate composite molds. If successful, such an innovation will eliminate the necessity of costly and energy-intensive autoclave ovens, serving as technological groundwork of composite manufacturing and enhance the U.S. composite tooling competitiveness in the global market. This ERI project will also engage a diverse group of students, including underrepresented minorities, in new manufacturing technologies and provide hands-on experiences to develop scientific, analytical thinking, and leadership skills. In addition, the team will partner with school districts in the gulf coast area of Houston for outreach activities that promote K-12 students to pursue a career in STEM-related fields.The overall goal of this research is to establish and understand a system for AM of resistance heating wire embedded out-of-oven composite molds made of short carbon-fiber reinforced polycarbonate. For embedding heating wires during 3D printing, the project will investigate the fundamentals of thermoplastic swelling due to nonpolar solvents by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The study will build the basis for the development of a dual-extrusion FFF printer integrated with a resistance heating wire deposition system to produce composite molds for the investigation into the interaction between heating wires and thermoplastics. The effect of wire heating on the temperature profile of the fabricated mold will be characterized by infrared thermography and correlated with the mechanical evaluation of fabricated composite molds. In addition, thermoset composite components made by the heating-wire embedded molds and conventional autoclave molds will be quantitatively compared. The findings of this research are expected to generate new knowledge on material-extrusion based AM of embedded heating composite molds for energy-efficient composite manufacture.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.

高性能聚合物复合材料对许多轻质和增强结构应用具有吸引力，可作为金属零件的替代品。但是，更具体地说的是，复合制造的相关成本，霉菌制造和霉菌加热的广泛成本确实限制了它们的大规模生产。传统的模具加热需要工具组件和相对较长的交货时间，这加大了制造成本，并为广泛采用带来了重大挑战。该工程研究启动（ERI）奖支持基础研究，以了解热塑性复合材料的添加剂制造（AM），以制造热固性复合材料。研究工作将开发并整合一个较低的成本工具，该工具能够在融合细丝制造（FFF）（在非极性溶剂的情况下）制造的零件中沉积加热线，以制造复合模具。如果成功的话，这种创新将消除昂贵和能源密集型的高压灭菌烤箱的必要性，这是复合制造的技术基础，并增强了美国在全球市场中的综合工具竞争力。这个ERI项目还将吸引一群多样化的学生，包括代表性不足的少数群体，参与新的制造技术，并提供动手体验，以发展科学，分析思维和领导能力。此外，该团队将与休斯顿墨西哥湾沿岸地区的学区合作进行外展活动，以促进K-12学生从事与STEM相关的领域的职业。这项研究的总体目标是建立和理解一种抗阻力加热线嵌入了嵌入式嵌入式嵌入式的复合材料的系统，由较短的碳纤维 - 纤维纤维增强的多碳酸氢酯制成。对于在3D打印过程中嵌入加热电线，该项目将研究由于固态核磁共振和傅立叶变换红外光谱而导致的热塑性肿胀的基础。这项研究将为开发与电阻加热线沉积系统集成的双重排斥FFF打印机的开发建立基础，以生成复合模具，以研究加热线与热塑性塑料之间的相互作用。电线加热对制成模具温度剖面的影响将以红外热力计形成为特征，并与制造的复合模具的机械评估相关。此外，将在数量上比较由加热线嵌入式模具和常规高压灭菌模具制成的热固性复合组件。这项研究的发现预计将在基于材料 - 结构的AM上产生新的知识，用于嵌入式加热复合模具，用于节能复合制造。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响标准通过评估来进行评估的。