Three-Dimensional Printing of Natural Materials Involving Loess-Based Composite Materials Designed for Ecofriendly Applications.

Hyunbae Lee,Jae-Hwan Kim,Seung-Muk Bae,Heesu Hwang,Jiwon Oh,Jin-Ha Hwang

doi:10.3390/ma14020293

Abstract

In this work, loess-based materials were designed based on a multicomponent composite materials system for ecofriendly natural three-dimensional (3D) printing involving quick lime, gypsum, and water. The 3D printing process was monitored as a function of gypsum content; in terms of mechanical strength and electrical resistance, in the cube-shaped bulk form. After initial optimization, the 3D printing composition was refined to provide improved printability in a 3D printing system. The optimal 3D fabrication allowed for reproducible printing of rectangular columns and cubes. The development of 3D printing materials was scrutinized using a multitude of physicochemical probing tools, including X-ray diffraction for phase identification, impedance spectroscopy to monitor setting behaviors, and mercury intrusion porosimetry to extract the pore structure of loess-based composite materials. Additionally, the setting behavior in the loess-based composite materials was analyzed by investigating the formation of gypsum hydrates induced by chemical reaction between quick lime and water. This setting reaction provides reasonable mechanical strength that is sufficient to print loess-based pastes via 3D printing. Such mechanical strength allows utilization of robotic 3D printing applications that can be used to fabricate ecofriendly structures.

Highlights

Hull [1,2], 3D printing has continually evolved with few limitations through the development of new materials and printing methodologies and using plastics, metals, glasses, and ceramics as materials and fused deposition modeling (FDM), stereolithography apparatus (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), and inkjet printing as processes [3,4,5,6]
The chemical compositions are listed in Table 2; these were obtained via X-ray fluorescence analyses
The feasibility of loess-based materials was evaluated in terms of mechanical, microstructural, and electrical factors

Summary

Introduction

The advent of the fourth industrial revolution has brought about advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and threedimensional (3D) printing technologies. There has been success in scaling 3D printing size with the help of either robotic systems or mechanical systems, which can expand the printing size beyond the traditional 30 cm × 30 cm. The synergic integration of 3D printing capabilities can open up new structural and/or aesthetic products with complex geometries. Applications are being expanded to new areas, including prototypes, art products, biomedical devices/assistants, architecture, and space residence/infrastructure [7,8,9,10,11,12]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion