Vazquez-Alvarez, Roberto A;
Carrillo, Jose G;
Flores-Johnson, Emmanuel A;
Bele, Eral;
Martin-Barrera, Cesar;
Herrera-Franco, Pedro J;
Rivas-Menchi, Aaron;
(2025)
Influence of the geometry and printing materials on the impact behavior of nacre-like composites produced by additive manufacturing.
Thin-Walled Structures
, 217
, Article 113881. 10.1016/j.tws.2025.113881.
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Bele_Manuscript_TWST-D-25-02150.pdf - Accepted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 28 August 2026. Download (1MB) |
Abstract
This study analyzes the impact performance of 3D printed bioinspired nacre-like composites fabricated using fused deposition modeling and subjected to low-velocity impact. Five configurations were investigated: a monomaterial baseline (M) and a monomaterial-staggered nacre (M-SN) made of ABS, as well as three bimaterial nacre-like designs: staggered nacre (B-SN), staggered nacre-like in nature (B-SNN), and columnar nacre-like in nature (B-CNN) made of ABS and TPU. A layer thickness of 0.2 mm was selected for all configurations, resulting in 35 layers per specimen and a total thickness of 7 mm. The results indicated nacre-like bimaterial configurations exhibited greater ductility and energy absorption compared to the brittle monomaterial composites, attributed to the bioinspired design enabling multiple failure mechanisms. The B-SN configuration absorbed ∼99% of the 90 J impact energy, with a residual velocity of 0.5 m/s (∼11% of the impact velocity), representing a ∼309% increase compared to the M configuration, which absorbed only 24%. This improvement is linked to better tensile properties and shear strength of the ABS lateral joints in the B-SN configuration. B-SNN and B-CNN also demonstrated significant improvements, absorbing ∼87% and ∼76% of the impact energy, respectively. The staggered stacking in B-SN and B-SNN promoted crack deflection and distributed stress more effectively than columnar stacking in B-CNN. Computed tomography scans confirmed complex energy dissipation mechanisms in bimaterial designs, absent in brittle monomaterials. These results show that 3D printed bioinspired composites featuring a nacre-like design, which combines ABS and TPU with staggered stacking, exhibit high energy absorption and good impact resistance.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Influence of the geometry and printing materials on the impact behavior of nacre-like composites produced by additive manufacturing |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.tws.2025.113881 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tws.2025.113881 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Technology, Engineering, Civil, Engineering, Mechanical, Mechanics, Engineering, Layered structures, Nacre-like composite, Low velocity impact, Impact behavior, 3D printing, Computed tomography (CT) scan, Failure mechanism, 3D, DESIGN, TOUGHNESS, FRACTURE, ARCHITECTURE, FABRICATION, RESISTANCE, MECHANICS, MOTHER, BONE |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Mechanical Engineering |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10220535 |
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