Home > Press > Vascular composites enable dynamic structural materials
Image by Piyush Thakre, Alex Jerez, Ryan Durdle and Jeremy Miller, Beckman Institute, U. of I.
A vascularized fiber-reinforced composite material. Illinois researchers developed a class of sacrificial fibers that degrade after composite fabrication, leaving hollow vascular tunnels that can transport liquids or gases through the composite. |
Abstract:
Taking their cue from biological circulatory systems, University of Illinois researchers have developed vascularized structural composites, creating materials that are lightweight and strong with potential for self-healing, self-cooling, metamaterials and more.
"We can make a material now that's truly multifunctional by simply circulating fluids that do different things within the same material system," said Scott White, the Willet Professor of aerospace engineering who led the group. "We have a vascularized structural material that can do almost anything."
Composite materials are a combination of two or more materials that harness the properties of both. Composites are valued as structural materials because they can be lightweight and strong. Many composites are fiber-reinforced, made of a network of woven fibers embedded in resin - for example, graphite, fiberglass or Kevlar.
The Illinois team, part of the Autonomous Materials Systems Laboratory in the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, developed a method of making fiber-reinforced composites with tiny channels for liquid or gas transport. The channels could wind through the material in one long line or branch out to form a network of capillaries, much like the vascular network in a tree.
"Trees are incredible structural materials, but they're dynamic too," said co-author Jeffrey Moore, the Murchison-Mallory professor of chemistry and a professor of materials science and engineering. "They can pump fluids, transfer mass and energy from the roots to the leaves. This is the first step to making synthetic materials that have that kind of functionality."
The key to the method, published in the journal Advanced Materials, is the use of sacrificial fibers. The team treated commercially available fibers so that they would degrade at high temperatures. The sacrificial fibers are no different from normal fibers during weaving and composite fabrication. But when the temperature is raised further, the treated fibers vaporize - leaving tiny channels in their place - without affecting the structural composite material itself.
"There have been vascular materials fabricated previously, including things that we've done, but this paper demonstrated that you can approach the manufacturing with a concept that is vastly superior in terms of scalability and commercial viability," White said.
In the paper, the researchers demonstrate four classes of application by circulating different fluids through a vascular composite: temperature regulation, chemistry, conductivity and electromagnetism. They regulate temperature by circulating coolant or a hot fluid. To demonstrate a chemical reaction, they injected chemicals into different vascular branches that merged, mixing the chemicals to produce a luminescent reaction. They made the structure electrically active by using conductive liquid, and changed its electromagnetic signature with ferrofluids - a key property for stealth applications.
Next, the researchers hope to develop interconnected networks with membranes between neighboring channels to control transport between channels. Such networks would enable many chemical and energy applications, such as self-healing polymers or fuel cells.
"This is not just another microfluidic device," said co-author Nancy Sottos, the Willett professor of materials science and engineering and a professor of aerospace engineering. "It's not just a widget on a chip. It's a structural material that's capable of many functions that mimic biological systems. That's a big jump."
This work was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Scott White
217-333-1077
Copyright © University of Illinois
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related Links |
The paper, “Three-Dimensional Microvascular Fiber-Reinforced Composites,” is available online.
Related News Press |
News and information
Simulating magnetization in a Heisenberg quantum spin chain April 5th, 2024
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Microfluidics/Nanofluidics
Implantable device shrinks pancreatic tumors: Taming pancreatic cancer with intratumoral immunotherapy April 14th, 2023
Researchers design new inks for 3D-printable wearable bioelectronics: Potential uses include printing electronic tattoos for medical tracking applications August 19th, 2022
Oregon State University research pushes closer to new therapy for pancreatic cancer May 6th, 2022
Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes April 5th, 2024
Discoveries
Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes April 5th, 2024
New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells April 5th, 2024
Utilizing palladium for addressing contact issues of buried oxide thin film transistors April 5th, 2024
Materials/Metamaterials/Magnetoresistance
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Focused ion beam technology: A single tool for a wide range of applications January 12th, 2024
Announcements
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Military
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024
New chip opens door to AI computing at light speed February 16th, 2024
Energy
Development of zinc oxide nanopagoda array photoelectrode: photoelectrochemical water-splitting hydrogen production January 12th, 2024
Shedding light on unique conduction mechanisms in a new type of perovskite oxide November 17th, 2023
Inverted perovskite solar cell breaks 25% efficiency record: Researchers improve cell efficiency using a combination of molecules to address different November 17th, 2023
The efficient perovskite cells with a structured anti-reflective layer – another step towards commercialization on a wider scale October 6th, 2023
Fuel Cells
Current and Future Developments in Nanomaterials and Carbon Nanotubes: Applications of Nanomaterials in Energy Storage and Electronics October 28th, 2022
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
Premium Products | ||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||