Advanced additive manufacturing of multifunctional composites

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Several high-tech products are reaching their operational limits. For example, the microelectronics industry is facing a growing demand for compact 3D architectures and reduced power consumption, while the aerospace industry is looking for lighter, more rigid and electrically conductive materials to lighten its devices. A very promising solution is to capitalize on the incredible properties of certain micro or nanoscopic materials (1 billionth of a meter) and incorporate them into plastics to form significantly improved composites. Additive manufacturing, or three-dimensional (3D) printing, of composites is a grouping of different shaping processes that allows the fabrication of structures through robotic deposition of material by means of a computer model. This technology is a very promising avenue for the implementation of many mechanical and aerospace systems. My work focuses on the development of advanced composite materials offering multiple functionalities (where multiple properties are desired for a given application) for additive manufacturing. On the manufacturing side, I will continue my original work on the printing of complex freeform 3D structures (without support material) and develop a multi-material printing platform compatible with my different composites of various properties (mechanical resistance, electrical conductivity, piezoelectricity: generation of electric charges when deformed, etc.). On the material side, I will create new types of composites that offer innovative features while remaining compatible with efficient green processes. Numerical simulation tools will also be developed to predict the properties of not only the composites, but also of the printed parts. My research pushes the boundaries of additive manufacturing and allows the creation of systems with properties and geometries that are not achievable with even the most advanced commercial 3D printers on the market. The expected benefits are (1) the complete development of a 3D freeform manufacturing method compatible with a wide variety of materials and applications, (2) the printing of a new type of fully printable sensor made of material composites for mobile devices where electrical energy is restricted (cell phone, smart clothing), (3) the creation of green materials and processes that are less polluting and innovative. These discoveries will benefit several academic collaborators for future projects, and industrial partners mainly working in the aerospace, microelectronics and biomedical fields.