X Li, M Kim, W Zhai*, Ceramic microlattice and epoxy interpenetrating phase composites with simultaneous high specific strength and specific energy absorption, Materials & Design. 2022 Nov 1;223:111206, link Being lightweight, strong, and tough, are qualities often sought-after in practical engineering materials. Herein, we present interpenetrating phase composites (IPC), based on the combination of additively manufactured alumina microlattices and infiltrated epoxy, that display an excellent combination of such characteristics. Lengthened stress plateau up to −0.6 strain and co-enhanced strength up to 65 % higher than the linear sum of their constituents have been observed. This constitutes a simultaneous high specific strength and specific energy absorption up to 113.5–142.6 MPa/(g/cm3) and 25.3–35.6 J/g, respectively, for the IPCs, at low densities of around 1.8 g/cm3. The mechanism of the co-enhanced strength attributed to the improved alumina fracture toughness whilst the lengthened plateau attributes to the progressive material failure and strain energy relaxation. |
X Guo, J Ding, X Li, S Qu, JYH Fuh, WF Lu, X Song*, Wei Zhai*, Interpenetrating phase composites with 3D printed triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) lattice structures, Composites Part B: Engineering. 2022 Oct 19:110351, link In this work, we investigated triply periodic minimal surface sheet lattice and epoxy interpenetrating phase composites. To achieve superior specific energy absorption (SEA) enhancements in the composites, an optimised Schwarz primitive lattice (P-lattice) structure is proposed by redefining the shell opening diameter with a shape parameter. The IPCs exhibit a superior specific energy absorption of 49.6 J/g, a 1109% improvement from that of the pure lattice, which is attributed to the high strength and large plateau strain of the composites. The simulation results show that the internal energy of both lattice and epoxy in composites is 136% and 21%, respectively, higher than that of single structures due to the interaction effects. |
X Li, KM Lim*, W Zhai*, A novel class of bioinspired composite via ultrasound-assisted directed self-assembly digital light 3D printing, Applied Materials Today. 2022 Mar 1; 26:101388, link Being materials agonistic, ultrasound waves are capable of moving any types of particles in a resin within the reasonable range of acoustic radiation forces. Through ultrasound-assisted DLP, we present a novel class of composite – the discontinuous interpenetrating-phase composite (d-IPC) – where the cellular filler phase is based on particulate line assemblies, as opposed to continuous materials. Despite being fully bulk with a similar density (1.18 g cm-3) and strength (68 MPa) as the matrix polymer, it presents an additional plateau-deformation behavior under large compressive strains which hence constitutes a 218% increase in specific energy absorption up to 37 J g-1. |