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Design and Manufacturing of Bioinspired Material and Structures

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Manufacturing Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 November 2022) | Viewed by 10748

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
Interests: additive manufacturing; bioinspired design; programmable material; biomanufacturing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Mechanical Engineering, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA
Interests: energy harvesting; 3D printing; bioinspired structures; multifunctional composites; wearable sensors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H3G 1M8, Canada
Interests: additive manufacturing; 4D printing; polymer; design for additive manufacturing; topology optimization; generative design; lattice structure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recently, a paradigm shift in modern materials science and technology from geometry-centered usage to function-focused applications is taking place. Nature has developed high-performance materials and structures over millions of years of evolution, providing valuable inspiration for the design of next generation functional structures and materials. However, the complicated structural architectures in nature far exceed the capability of traditional design and fabrication technologies, which hinders the progress of biomimetic study and its use in engineering systems. Biomimetic design and manufacturing promote possibilities in manipulating and mimicking the multiscale, multimaterial, and multifunctional structures with excellent acoustical, optical, electrical, thermal, mechanical, and hydrodynamic properties, to name but a few examples. 

The aim of this SI is to understand the basic design principles and physical/chemical mechanisms that determine optimized structural organization in biological systems and its relationship to function. Moreover, based on the identified physical/chemical principle, we wish to investigate pathways for the synthesis and manufacturing of biomimetic materials and structures. This SI will focus on research advances in the areas of bioinspired advanced design and manufacturing of functional structures and materials for future engineering systems. The growth of bioinspired design and manufacturing technology will open intriguing perspectives for developing materials and structures on the basis of novel manufacturing processes together with new computer-aided design and simulation methods.

Dr. Xiangjia Li
Dr. Yang Yang
Prof. Dr. Tsz Ho Kwok
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • design, modeling, and simulation of bioinspired structures and material systems for 3D printing
  • field (electric, magnetic, acoustic, optical, shear force, thermal, etc.) assisted 3D printing
  • templating (gas, ice, salt, sugar, etc.) based 3D printing
  • innovative 3D printing processes for bioinspired material and structures fabrication
  • 4D printing of active materials
  • 3D printing of bioinspired metamaterials and metasurfaces
  • 3D printing of electronic devices (circuits, sensors, antennas, piezoelectrics, thermoelectrics, optoelectronics, etc.)
  • 3D printing of energy harvest, storage, and conversion devices (batteries, supercapacitors, solar cells, fuel cells, etc.)
  • 3D printing of bioinspired functional surfaces (hydrophobic, oleophobic, hydrodynamic, microfluidic, etc.)
  • advanced applications of bioinspired 3D printing in mechanics, optics, and thermal physics

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 10407 KiB  
Article
Fabrication of Piezoelectric Electrospun Termite Nest-like 3D Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering
by Thanapon Muenwacha, Oratai Weeranantanapan, Nuannoi Chudapongse, Francisco Javier Diaz Sanchez, Santi Maensiri, Norbert Radacsi and Wiwat Nuansing
Materials 2021, 14(24), 7684; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14247684 - 13 Dec 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2531
Abstract
A high piezoelectric coefficient polymer and biomaterial for bone tissue engineering— poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP)—has been successfully fabricated into 3D scaffolds using the wet electrospinning method. Three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds have significant advantages for tissue engineering applications. Electrospinning is an advanced method and can fabricate [...] Read more.
A high piezoelectric coefficient polymer and biomaterial for bone tissue engineering— poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP)—has been successfully fabricated into 3D scaffolds using the wet electrospinning method. Three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds have significant advantages for tissue engineering applications. Electrospinning is an advanced method and can fabricate 3D scaffolds. However, it has some limitations and is difficult to fabricate nanofibers into 3D shapes because of the low controllability of porosity and internal pore shape. The PVDF-HFP powders were dissolved in a mixture of acetone and dimethylformamide with a ratio of 1:1 at various concentrations of 10, 13, 15, 17, and 20 wt%. However, only the solutions at 15 and 17 wt% with optimized electrospinning parameters can be fabricated into biomimetic 3D shapes. The produced PVDF-HFP 3D scaffolds are in the cm size range and mimic the structure of the natural nests of termites of the genus Apicotermes. In addition, the 3D nanofiber-based structure can also generate more electrical signals than the conventional 2D ones, as the third dimension provides more compression. The cell interaction with the 3D nanofibers scaffold was investigated. The in vitro results demonstrated that the NIH 3T3 cells could attach and migrate in the 3D structures. While conventional electrospinning yields 2D (flat) structures, our bio-inspired electrospun termite nest-like 3D scaffolds are better suited for tissue engineering applications since they can potentially mimic native tissues as they have biomimetic structure, piezoelectric, and biological properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Manufacturing of Bioinspired Material and Structures)
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21 pages, 4123 KiB  
Article
Analysis and Design of Lattice Structures for Rapid-Investment Casting
by Christopher T. Richard and Tsz-Ho Kwok
Materials 2021, 14(17), 4867; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14174867 - 27 Aug 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2974
Abstract
This paper aims to design lattice structures for rapid-investment casting (RIC), and the goal of the design methodology is to minimize casting defects that are related to the lattice topology. RIC can take full advantage of the unprecedented design freedom provided by AM. [...] Read more.
This paper aims to design lattice structures for rapid-investment casting (RIC), and the goal of the design methodology is to minimize casting defects that are related to the lattice topology. RIC can take full advantage of the unprecedented design freedom provided by AM. Since design for RIC has multiple objectives, we limit our study to lattice structures that already have good printability, i.e., self-supported and open-celled, and improve their castability. To find the relationship between topological features and casting performance, various lattice topologies underwent mold flow simulation, finite element analysis, casting experiments, and grain structure analysis. From the results, the features established to affect casting performance in descending order of importance are relative strut size, joint number, joint valence, and strut angle distribution. The features deemed to have the most significant effect on tensile and shear mechanical performance are strut angle distribution, joint number, and joint valence. The practical application of these findings is the ability to optimize the lattice topology with the end goal of manufacturing complex lattice structures using RIC. These lattice structures can be used to create lightweight components with optimized functionality for various applications such as aerospace and medical. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Manufacturing of Bioinspired Material and Structures)
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Review

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16 pages, 2152 KiB  
Review
Biomedical Alloys and Physical Surface Modifications: A Mini-Review
by Xinxin Yan, Wei Cao and Haohuan Li
Materials 2022, 15(1), 66; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15010066 - 22 Dec 2021
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3772
Abstract
Biomedical alloys are essential parts of modern biomedical applications. However, they cannot satisfy the increasing requirements for large-scale production owing to the degradation of metals. Physical surface modification could be an effective way to enhance their biofunctionality. The main goal of this review [...] Read more.
Biomedical alloys are essential parts of modern biomedical applications. However, they cannot satisfy the increasing requirements for large-scale production owing to the degradation of metals. Physical surface modification could be an effective way to enhance their biofunctionality. The main goal of this review is to emphasize the importance of the physical surface modification of biomedical alloys. In this review, we compare the properties of several common biomedical alloys, including stainless steel, Co–Cr, and Ti alloys. Then, we introduce the principle and applications of some popular physical surface modifications, such as thermal spraying, glow discharge plasma, ion implantation, ultrasonic nanocrystal surface modification, and physical vapor deposition. The importance of physical surface modifications in improving the biofunctionality of biomedical alloys is revealed. Future studies could focus on the development of novel coating materials and the integration of various approaches. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Manufacturing of Bioinspired Material and Structures)
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