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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Using agglomerate-free nanopowder as sliding friction reducer between alumina platelets in an ultraviolet-curable slurry for vat polymerization additive manufacturing
Ming Xuan Gan1* ,
Lijie Zhang1,2 ,
Guanjin Li1 ,
Tao Li3 ,
Beng Wah Chua3 ,
Jiansheng Liu2
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1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore,
Singapore
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Advanced Manufacturing, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi,
China
3
Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR),
Singapore
Submitted: 11 January 2024 | Accepted: 19 February 2024 | Published: 14 March 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract
Nature’s ability to adapt and survive the harshest environment offers humankind an important source of muses in the efforts to create and improve existing materials. In this study, we demonstrated a concept of using agglomerate-free nanopowder as a sliding friction reducer between alumina platelets in a slurry. An ultraviolet-curable slurry containing predominantly alumina platelets exhibited favorable rheological characteristics to align the platelets with a coating blade in a vat polymerization printer. Consequently, a ceramic part with nacre‑like structure could be printed and infiltrated with a secondary phase. Microscopy study on the fracture surfaces revealed various toughening mechanisms such as severing of the bridges between platelets and crack deflection by the platelets. Fracture of a three-point bent part mainly occurred due to the pull-out of platelets and failure of the polymer phase. The findings of this study suggest promising avenues for future research, including the additive manufacturing of larger objects consisting of nacre-like microstructures.
Keywords
Alumina
Platelets
Nacre-inspired
Vat polymerization
Ceramics
Funding
This research is partially supported by the Advanced Research and Technology Innovation Centre (ARTIC), the National University of Singapore under Grant (project number: A-0005947-31-00), and is supported by A*STAR under its IAF PP Grant (Project No. M22K4a0044) under the work package of “Thermal Management of Motor with Ferrofluid Composite Particles,” and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province funded project No. of 20232BCJ22058, entitled “Research on Key Technologies of Metal Ultrathin Plates for High-Power Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Multi-Source Energy Equipment.”
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Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.