3D-Inkjet Printing of Flexible and Stretchable Electronics

Inkjet printing of conductive tracks on flexible and stretchable materials have gained considerable interest in recent years. Conductive inks including inks with silver nanoparticles, carbon based inks, inks containing poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) doped with polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSS) are being researched widely to obtain a printed electronic patterns. In this study, we present drop-on-demand inkjet printing of conductive silver and PEDOT:PSS on a flexible and stretchable substrate. Process conditions for the inkjet printing of silver nano-particles and PEDOT:PSS were optimised and simple geometrical patterns (straight line and sinewave tracks) were printed. Surface profile, surface morphology and electrical resistance of the printed patterns were examined. The printed silver patterns were observed to be highly conductive; however when stretched, the patterns did not conduct due to the origination of cracks. The measured conductivity for the PEDOT:PSS patterns was significantly lower than the silver patterns; however, they remained conductive when stretched for up to 3 mm. When flexed, PEDOT:PSS remained conductive for a lower radius of curvature (10 mm) than the silver. Among the printed patterns, the sinewave pattern was observed to be superior for flexible electronics application.Mechanical Engineerin

Mathematical toolbox and its application in the development of laboratory scale vertical axis wind turbine

Wind turbine works with the principle of extracting energy from the wind to generate electricity. The power generated is directly proportional to the wind speed available. There are two major types of wind turbine design, namely the horizontal and vertical axis wind turbine depending on the orientation of the turbine rotor and its generator. This paper deals with the design of vertical turbine due to its advantage of operating at a low wind speed over that of horizontal turbine. The analysis of change in the parameters of a vertical axis wind turbine is investigated to get the optimized way in which the rotor of the turbine is to be designed. This is done through modelling and simulation of the turbine using various parameters in the MATLAB/SIMULINK environment. A graphical user interface is created for a generic model of vertical axis wind turbine that is used to determine its parameters

3D inkjet printing of conductive structures using in-situ IR sintering

In this study we investigate the inkjet printing of a silver nanoparticle ink and the optimization of IR sintering conditions to form 3D inkjet-printed conductive structures. The understanding of the interaction between the silver layers and the sintering conditions are key elements to successfully build conductive tracks in 3D. The drop size of conductive ink on glass substrates as well as on sintered conductive film was measured to optimize the printing resolution. The resistivity of the sintered deposition was studied in a planar X-Y direction as well as in a vertical Z direction to analyze the effects of stacking hundreds of silver layers in different deposition orientations. Using the results of the optimized printing and sintering conditions, conductive tracks were demonstrated forming simple 3D inkjet-printed structures powering electronic components

Investigating the melt pool properties and thermal effects of multi-laser diode area melting

Diode area melting (DAM) is a new additive manufacturing process that utilises customised architectural arrays of low-power laser diode emitters for high-speed parallel processing of metallic feedstock. The laser diodes operate at shorter laser wavelengths (808 nm) than conventional SLM fibre lasers (1064 nm) theoretically enabling more efficient energy absorption for specific materials. This investigation presents the first work investigating the melt pool properties and thermal effects of the multi-laser DAM process, modelling generated melt pools the unique thermal profiles created along a powder bed during processing. Using this approach process, optimisation can be improved by analysing this thermal temperature distribution, targeting processing conditions that induce full melting for variable powder layer thicknesses. In this work, the developed thermal model simulates the DAM processing of 316L stainless steel and is validated with experimental trials. The simulation indicates that multi-laser DAM methodology can reduce residual stress formation compared to the single point laser scanning methods used during selective laser melting

The Influence of Stabilized Deconjugated Ursodeoxycholic Acid on Polymer-Hydrogel System of Transplantable NIT-1 Cells

Purpose: The encapsulation of pancreatic ß-cells in biocompatible matrix has generated great interest in diabetes treatment. Our work has shown improved microcapsules when incorporating the bile acid ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), in terms of morphology and cell viability although cell survival remained low. Thus, the study aimed at incorporating the polyelectrolytes polyallylamine (PAA) and poly-l-ornithine (PLO), with the polymer sodium alginate (SA) and the hydrogel ultrasonic gel (USG) with UDCA and examined cell viability and functionality post microencapsulation. Methods: Microcapsules without (control) and with UDCA (test) were produced using 1% PLO, 2.5% PAA, 1.8% SA and 4.5% USG. Pancreatic ß-cells were microencapsulated and the microcapsules’ morphology, surface components, cellular and bile acid distribution, osmotic and mechanical stability as well as biocompatibilities, insulin production, bioenergetics and the inflammatory response were tested. Results: Incorporation of UDCA at 4% into a PLO-PAA-SA formulation system increased cell survival (p < 0.01), insulin production (p < 0.01), reduced the inflammatory profile (TNF-a, IFN-?, IL-6 and IL-1ß; p < 0.01) and improved the microcapsule physical and mechanical strength (p < 0.01). Conclusions: ß-cell microencapsulation using 1% PLO, 2.5% PAA, 1.8% SA, 4.5% USG and the bile acid UDCA (4%) has good potential in cell transplantation and diabetes treatment