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Performance Evaluation of Sandwich Structures Printed by Vat Photopolymerization
Shukantu Dev Nath1, Sabrina Nilufar1
1School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Materials Engineering, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA.
Polymers
|April 23, 2022
Summary
Vat photopolymerization enables lightweight sandwich structures with intricate cores. Diamond cores offer superior strength and weight savings, while re-entrant structures excel in energy absorption.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Additive Manufacturing
- Mechanical Engineering
Background:
- Additive manufacturing (AM) offers advanced fabrication capabilities for complex geometries.
- Lightweight sandwich structures with integrated cores and facesheets are challenging to produce with conventional methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To fabricate and characterize lightweight sandwich structures with various core topologies using vat photopolymerization.
- To evaluate the mechanical and thermomechanical properties of these 3D-printed structures.
Main Methods:
- Vat photopolymerization was employed to create sandwich structures with honeycomb, re-entrant honeycomb, diamond, and square cores.
- Uniaxial compression tests and dynamic mechanical analysis were conducted.
- Elastoplastic finite element analyses were performed for stress distribution.
Main Results:
- Diamond core structures demonstrated excellent compressive strength and weight-saving potential.
- Re-entrant structures exhibited high energy absorption capabilities.
- All printed sandwich structures showed enhanced thermomechanical stability at elevated temperatures compared to solid materials.
Conclusions:
- Vat photopolymerization is a viable technique for producing advanced lightweight sandwich structures.
- Tailoring core topology allows for optimized mechanical and energy absorption properties.
- These findings support the application of 3D-printed sandwich structures in demanding engineering fields.
