What is your thesis topic?
Rheological evaluation and guidelines of high-performance amorphous thermoplastics and carbon fiber reinforced composites for additive manufacturing.
How is materials processing involved in your research?
My research uses materials processing to develop 3D printability guidelines for high-performance thermoplastics used in extrusion-based additive manufacturing (AM). Emerging applications in polymer AM motivate the need for production and development of new materials with a broader range of thermal and mechanical properties. Therefore, to advance rapid material screening across various extrusion-based AM platforms, my research uses materials processing to develop material screening methodologies to evaluate the extrudability of potential AM feedstocks as well as define their processing conditions to allow for a more rapid introduction of new materials to AM.
Provide an example of where the material/process/properties you are studying might find an application.
The BAAM (Big Area Additive Manufacturing) system is used for high-temperature tooling applications whose components are often designed and fabricated using various carbon fiber reinforced high-performance thermoplastics. The material characterization work that I do is instrumental in informing the deposition and bead formation process during extrusion of composite tools and molds on the BAAM system.