Abstract Scope |
Direct ink writing (DIW) enables the deposition of a broad range of composite materials and imposes preferential orientation on high-aspect-ratio filler materials, including nano-platelets, whiskers, and fibers. This alignment of filler materials is controlled via the shear stresses in the deposition nozzle. These shear stresses are highly non-uniform during printing, leading to spatial variation of orientation of filler materials within the printed road. Because adjacent printed roads usually overlap one another by a certain percentage, an interfacial boundary and deformed region between the roads exist, which influences the final arrangement of filler materials. This talk will focus on recent efforts in understanding filler orientation within printed composite inks as characterized by polarized light microscopy, nanoindentation mapping, and micro-beam small-angle X-ray scattering. Results establish relationships between the composition of the printed material, overlap of printed roads, optical birefringence patterns, local and bulk mechanical properties, and filler orientation within a printed component. |