Academic Report：Additive Manufacturing of Bio-inspired Structures via Nanocomposite 3D Printing
Speaker：Prof. Yong Chen
Time：2018.3.15 10:30AM
Abstract:
Many natural structures out-perform the conventional synthetic counterparts due to the specially evolved multi-scale and multi-material architectures. However, the majority of current 3D printing systems are designed to fabricate parts using a single material in a single scale mainly for structural purpose. Such complex yet beautiful designs existing in natural structures are far beyond the fabrication capability of current 3D printing systems. This talk will report our recent work on developing new multi-scale and multi-material additive manufacturing processes to fabricate bio-inspired structures including (1) the Bouligand structure in natural creatures to create highly impact resistant architectures, and (2) the eggbeater structure of the Salvinia Molesta leaves to create superhydrophobic structures. After a brief overview of current 3D printing technology, an electrically assisted additive manufacturing (AM) approach to fabricate complex reinforcement architectures will be presented. The fabricated structures show three times enhanced impact resistance with Bouligand-type orientation compared with random orientation. Another additive manufacturing process named Immersed Surface Accumulation to fabricate complex micro-scale structures on an object surface will also be presented. Such AM process enables one to reproduce biomimetic functional surfaces to achieve interesting properties such as hydrophobilicity and petal effect. Both AM processes are based on nanocomposite by mixing multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes with photocurable resins. Some promising applications enabled by the 3D-printed structures will also be demonstrated and discussed. The talk will conclude with remarks and thoughts on future 3D printing developments and potential opportunities for product designers and manufacturing engineers.
Brief Biography：
Dr. Yong Chen is an associate professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering (courtesy) at the University of Southern California (USC). He received his B.S. degree from Zhejiang University in 1993, M.S. degree from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 1996, and Ph.D. degree from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2001, all in Mechanical Engineering. Prior to joining USC in 2006, he was a senior Research and Development (R&D) engineer in 3D Systems Inc, the pioneer in 3D Printing industry. Dr. Chen’s research focuses on additive manufacturing (3D printing) in micro- and meso- scales, especially modeling, analyzing, synthesizing, and optimizing digital design and manufacturing. Dr. Chen has published more than 140 publications in refereed journals and conferences. Among them, he received over 10 Best/Outstanding Paper Awards in major design and manufacturing journals and conferences. Other major awards he received include the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, and the Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). He was cited as one of the top young engineers (ages of 30-45) in USA through the invitation to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Frontiers of Engineering Symposium in 2009 and 2013, and chaired Advanced Manufacturing session in China-American Frontiers of Engineering Symposium in 2015. Currently he is serving in the editorial boards of Computer-aided Design, ASME Journal of Computers and Information in Engineering, and International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing. He has served as conference/program chairs as well as keynote speakers in several international conferences, including the Conference Chair of the 2017 International Manufacturing Research Conference (NAMRC/MSEC/ICM&P) held in Los Angeles, California in June 2017.