Abstract
Photopolymerization is an advanced technology to trigger free radical polymerization in a liquid monomer solution through light-induced curing, during which mechanical properties of the material are significantly transformed. Widely used in additive manufacturing, parts fabricated with this technique display precisions up to the nanoscale; however, the performance of final components is not only affected by the raw material but also by the specific setup employed during the printing process. In this paper, we develop a multiphysics model to predict the mechanical properties of the photo-cured components, by taking into account the process parameters involved in the considered additive manufacturing technology. In the approach proposed, the main chemical, physical, and mechanical aspects of photopolymerization are modelled and implemented in a finite element framework. Specifically, the kinetics of light diffusion from a moving source and chain formation in the liquid monomer is coupled to a statistical approach to describe the mechanical properties as a function of the degree of cure. Several parametric examples are provided, in order to quantify the effects of the printing settings on the spatial distribution of the final properties in the component. The proposed approach provides a tool to predict the mechanical features of additively manufactured parts, which designers can adopt to optimize the desired characteristics of the products.
Highlights
In recent years, additive manufacturing (AM) has revolutionized the modern industry by introducing a new concept to fabricate complex geometries by means of a threedimensional model data [1,2,3]
We develop a multiphysics model to describe the main physical, chemical, and mechanical aspects involved in photopolymerization, by simulating the whole printing process starting from the liquid monomer resin and arriving to the final solidified component
Representing the core of our work, we provide a multiphysics approach in order to model the complex phenomena of photopolymerization, which transforms an initial liquid monomer into a solid component with its mechanical properties being dependent by the setup of the photopolymerization process itself
Summary
Additive manufacturing (AM) has revolutionized the modern industry by introducing a new concept to fabricate complex geometries by means of a threedimensional model data [1,2,3]. The present research provides a multiphysics approach, involving the light diffusion, chemical kinetics and mechanics coupling, aimed at quantitatively evaluating the physical and mechanical characteristics of photopolymerized materials It enables to control the photopolymerization parameters to precisely tune the final properties of the solid material; this aspect is very important, for instance, in additive manufacturing processes based on such a polymerization technique since the desired quality and safety level of the final polymer, according to the application in turn, can be guaranteed and optimized. In Section. 2.3, we present the main features of the proposed mechanical model, emphasizing the role played by the active chains concentrationwhich represents the main output of the photopolymerization process linked to the mechanics of a final component
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
