Liquid-substrate interactions relevant to 3D printing of fiber reinforced soft composites

Abstract

Fiber-reinforced soft composites (FrSCs) are a new class of composite materials made up of hierarchical, polymer fiber networks embedded within another soft polymer matrix. The objective of this thesis is to fundamentally study the liquid-substrate interactions relevant to the 3D printing of these FrSCs. The novel, multimaterial additive manufacturing process presented in this thesis combines the conventional inkjet-based printing of ultraviolet (UV) curable polymers with the deposition of electrospun fiber mats in between each printed layer. The process has been proven to manufacture multimaterial laminated nanocomposites having different 3D geometries. The dimensional accuracy of the parts is seen to be a function of the interaction between the liquid and solid interfaces. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) reveals that improvements in the mechanical properties are obtained without drastically altering the thermal degradation pattern of the base polymer.