My Graduate Thesis
Polymer/Coal composites from Ink-based Additive Manufacturing
What?
I used a liquid ink based additive manufacturing technique called Direct Ink Writing (DIW), to 3D print a coal-polymer composite. Key aim of this research is to use coal as a sustainable and cheap reinforcement material, and if it can be used as a precursor material for Carbon/Carbon composites, a unique high temperature composite which is usually expensive and time consuming to make.
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A common misconception is that the speed of aircraft is primarily limited by engine performance capabilities. In reality, the key limiting factor is the lack of materials capable of withstanding the extreme temperatures generated by air friction at high speeds. For instance, temperatures on the nose cone, ailerons, and control surfaces can soar to approximately 700 degrees Celsius when flying at speeds exceeding Mach 5. At such elevated temperatures, traditional materials like aluminum tend to melt, CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) disintegrates, and even titanium starts to lose its mechanical properties. This is where Carbon/Carbon (C/C) composites come into play.
As the name implies, Carbon/Carbon (C/C) composites consist of both the matrix and reinforcement made entirely of carbon, endowing the composite with the ability to withstand temperatures exceeding 2000 degrees Celsius. The conventional manufacturing method for C/C composites is not only time-consuming but also entails high production costs and high man hours requirements. Through our innovative approach, we anticipate producing a similar composite with comparable mechanical properties at a 60% faster rate while reducing the required manpower and overall costs. Furthermore, we've explored the use of coal as a reinforcement material, which is significantly more cost-effective, slashing the manufacturing expenses associated with C/C composites by 90%.
How?
We explored a lot of additive manufacturing techniques to see if it can be used for this research. We were certain that we have to use a liquid ink based additive manufacturing due to the raw materials limitation. SLA and DIW were the two most commonly used liquid ink based additive manufacturing technique. SLA posed a problem because adding carbonaceous material to the ink made the UV light hard to penetrate through the ink. So DIW was the obvious choice for this research.
DIW additive manufacturing of coal/polymer composite.
Post printing, the composite is cured in the oven over the next 3 days at temperatures rising from 80-150 deg Celsius. But even before printing, we characterized different suitable thermosetting Phenolic and Epoxy resins using Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Rheology to come up with the material with the highest carbon yield, good rheological properties and best curing. The 3D printed composite was tested for tensile, flexural and XRD properties for mechanical characterization and suitability for C/C composites.
Results
The results showed promising mechanicals properties across the board. Not only that, since we are using an additive manufacturing technique, printing of complex features were much more achievable compared to traditional manufacturing. Also we bought down the manufacturing time from 6 months to 2 months which is 60% faster, lesser man power since most of the process is automated.


Phenolic resin pre and post carburization.
My journey through this project as Research Assistant

Monthly group meeting. Where once a month, all our lab mates discuss our research progress, engage in group discussions and come up with possible solution for one another's projects. In this picture, me (far left) and Dhanush Patil (red sweatshirt), a fellow Ph.D. student, discussing a possible solution for simulating a micropatterned MXene nanostructure for its heat dissipation performance in a microprocessor packaging application.

My last day as a Research assistant, when we finalized my thesis presentation. From left to right, My advisor Dr. Kenan Song, Ph.D. students Dharneedar Ravichandran and Dhanush Patil, me.

A picture with my lab mates on the day of my thesis defense.

Focused on work! A picture of me working on Direct Ink Writing, taken by my fellow lab mate and a Ph.D. student, Varun Kumar.
PS: I was optimizing the print parameters here, that's why a close observation was required.