Optimizing the Properties of Polymers and Composites Made by Additive Manufacturing

拟议的研究计划集中在使用数字增材制造制造的材料的加工，结构和机械性能之间关系的分析和建模。术语“增材制造”，也称为“3D打印”，描述了许多不同的过程，其中通过沉积非常薄的材料层来构建固体组件，这些材料层融合或粘合到先前沉积层的材料上。商用机器已经被用来以这种方式沉积各种材料：聚合物、金属、陶瓷、复合材料，甚至是生物相容性的人体组织支架。在所有情况下，各个层（最终整个部分）都是直接从数字文件中渲染的。这允许在零件的概念和实际三维物体的创建之间非常快速的周转。因此，增材制造也被广泛地称为“快速成型”。

The proposed program of research centers on the analysis and modeling of the relationship between processing, structure, and mechanical properties of materials made using digital additive manufacturing. The term “additive manufacturing”, also known as “3D printing”, describes a number of different processes in which a solid component is constructed by depositing very thin layers of material that fuse or bond to the material of the previously deposited layer. Commercial machines have been made to deposit a variety of materials in this way: polymers, metals, ceramics, composites, and even biocompatible human tissue scaffolds. In all cases, the individual layers (and eventually the entire part) are rendered directly from a digital file. This allows for a very quick turnaround between the conception of a part and the creation of the actual three-dimensional object. Hence additive manufacturing has also been widely referred to as “rapid prototyping”.