3D Printing of Flow-Inspired Anisotropic Patterns with Liquid Crystalline Polymers

Anisotropic materials formed by living organisms possess remarkable mechanical properties due to their intricate microstructure and directional freedom. In contrast, human-made materials face challenges in achieving similar levels of directionality due to material and manufacturability constraints. To overcome these limitations, an approach...

5-Axis Additive Manufacturing of Hydrogen Pressure Vessels: With Liquid Crystal Polymers

Traditional manufacturing techniques for hydrogen pressure vessels have inherent constraints in the possible geometrical and structural optimisation. Using 5-axis Additive Manufacturing (AM) allows for a far greater shaping freedom. This thesis will provide a new manufacturing method for pressure vessels with 5-axis AM. Using the highly...

Additive Manufacturing of Liquid Crystal Polymers: Interlayer features: formation and impact on interlaminar shear strength

Recent findings have highlighted the potential of a 3D-printable high-strength Liquid Crystal Polymer, whose anisotropy can be fostered for topology optimization intents. The mesostructure of a 3D-printed liquid crystal polymer is studied: the observation of interlayer features under the form of regular notches or spiraling patterns swirls is...