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作为金属部件的替代品，对于许多轻质和增强结构应用具有吸引力。然而，复合材料制造的相关成本，更具体地说，模具制造和模具加热的大量成本确实限制了其大规模生产。传统的高压釜加热模具需要模具组装和相对较长的交货时间，这增加了制造成本，并对广泛采用提出了重大挑战。该工程研究启动 (ERI) 奖项支持基础研究，以了解热塑性复合材料烘箱外模具的增材制造 (AM)，以制造热固性复合材料。该研究工作将开发和集成一种低成本工具，在非极性溶剂存在的情况下，能够在熔丝制造（FFF）制成的部件内沉积电热丝，以制造复合材料模具。如果成功，这样的创新将消除昂贵且能源密集型高压釜的必要性，成为复合材料制造的技术基础，并增强美国复合材料模具在全球市场的竞争力。该 ERI 项目还将让多元化的学生群体（包括代表性不足的少数族裔）参与新的制造技术，并提供实践经验来培养科学、分析思维和领导技能。此外，该团队还将与休斯敦墨西哥湾沿岸地区的学区合作开展外展活动，促进 K-12 学生在 STEM 相关领域寻求职业生涯。这项研究的总体目标是建立并了解一个系统由短碳纤维增强聚碳酸酯制成的嵌入电阻加热丝的烤箱外复合模具的增材制造。为了在 3D 打印过程中嵌入加热丝，该项目将通过固态核磁共振和傅里叶变换红外光谱研究非极性溶剂引起的热塑性膨胀的基本原理。该研究将为开发与电阻加热丝沉积系统集成的双挤出 FFF 打印机奠定基础，以生产复合模具，用于研究加热丝和热塑性塑料之间的相互作用。线材加热对制造模具温度分布的影响将通过红外热成像来表征，并与制造复合材料模具的机械评估相关。此外，还将对由电热丝嵌入模具和传统热压罐模具制造的热固性复合材料部件进行定量比较。这项研究的结果预计将产生基于材料挤出的嵌入式加热复合材料模具增材制造的新知识，用于节能复合材料制造。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和技术进行评估，被认为值得支持。更广泛的影响审查标准。