Browsing by Author "Rajamohan, Vasudevan"

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    4D printing of materials for the future: opportunities and challenges
    (Elsevier, 2019-10-16) Joshi, Siddharth; Rawat, Krishna; Karunakaran, C.; Rajamohan, Vasudevan; Mathew, Arun Tom; Koziol, Krzysztof K. K.; Kumar Thakur, Vijay; Balan, A.S.S
    The concept of 4D printing is its formation of complex three-dimensional structures that have the ability to adopt different shapes and forms when subjected to different environmental stimuli. A few researchers simply view 4D printing as an extended technique of 3D printing or additive manufacturing with the added constraint of time. However, the unique shape change mechanism exhibited in this process is a combination of shape programming and the usage of smart active materials mostly polymers. This review article highlights the various smart materials, activation mechanisms and the shape-changing techniques employed in the 4D printing process. The potential of the shape-changing structures and their current applications in various biomedical and engineering fields is also explored. The article aims to emphasize the potential and viability of 4D printing and focused on providing an in-depth insight into the 4D printing process.
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    Sustainable sandwich composites manufactured from recycled carbon fibers, flax fibers/PP skins, and recycled PET core
    (MDPI, 2020-11-23) Jiang, Qihong; Chen, Guiyong; Kumar, Abhideep; Mills, Andrew; Jani, Krutarth; Rajamohan, Vasudevan; Venugopal, Barathan; Rahatekar, Sameer S.
    European union end of life vehicle directive mandates the use of more sustainable/recyclable materials in automotive industries. Thermoplastics matrix-based composites allow recyclability of composites at the end of life; however, their processing technology is more challenging than thermoset composites. Manufacturing process and mechanical testing of sustainable sandwich composite made from sustainable materials: flax, recycled carbon fiber, polypropylene, and recycled PET foam are presented in this article. High pressure compression molding with adhesive thermoplastic polymer film was used for manufacturing sandwich composite skin. The recycled PET foam core was integrated/joined with the skin using a thermoplastics adhesive film. A three-point bending test was conducted to compare the flexural properties. The results show that such sustainable sandwich composites will be an excellent material for truck side panel to operate in adverse wind/storm conditions. The sustainable sandwich composite can potentially be an excellent candidate for the fabrication of light-duty, lightweight, and low-cost engineering structures in automotive industry to meet the EU end of life requirements.