Fabrication of conformal antenna by 3D printing of recycled thermoplastic polyurethane on fabric

Abstract

In this study, a recycled thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) substrate was 3D printed on cotton-lycra fabric (CLF) using the fused filament fabrication (FFF) method to create a microstrip patch antenna (MPA) following the sustainable development goal (SDG) (with a special focus on the industry, innovation, and infrastructure). Some recent studies have highlighted that the FFF process may be employed for required alterations in infill structure, and density, to provide accurate dimensional features for MPA (for wearable applications). It has been reported that for wearable applications, the conformal design of MPA is one of the major requirements. But hitherto little has been reported on the process capability of FFF for the conformability of MPA. This study highlights the process capability of FFF by considering the strain and strain hardening coefficient (SHC) of the MPA substrate, leading to a conformal antenna, which may be further used in wearable applications (at different bending positions without disturbing the antenna performance). Further, the MPA was designed and simulated at a resonating frequency (Rf) of 4.9 GHz using high-frequency structural simulation (HFSS) software, which shows the bending of MPA at a radius of 30 mm, 40 mm, 50 mm, and 60 mm resulted in Rf of 4.81 GHz, 4.81 GHz, 4.81 GHz, and 4.82 GHz respectively which lies in the range and shows the conformability of the designed MPA at different bending positions.