Microscale 3-D printing for nanoscale tunable ferromagnetic materials
Abstract
Microscale 3-D printing for nanoscale tunable ferromagnetic materials Research Objective: Experimental study on how to tailor the macroscale magnetic, electric, and mechanical properties of magnetic nanocomposites by patterning and manipulating ferromagnetic shapes at the microscale, using 3D printing coupled with externally oriented magnetic fields. Determine how the anisotropic ferromagnetic inclusions affect the overall macroscale material properties. Validate that the nanostructured magnetic inclusions within the composite can be selectively aligned and magnetized at will by controlling the ferromagnetic material concentration, 3D printing patterns, and the external multi-axis magnetic field strength. Potential Impact and Significance: State-of-the-art magnetic devices are limited in performance and fabrication throughput due to the lack of control of magnetic nanostructures (the limiting factor for magnetic properties). The proposed work will develop new understandings on how to pre-align and selectively imprint magnetic poles within laser sintered magnetic nanocomposites, which has never been demonstrated before. This will bring new design capabilities and significantly reduce SWaP-C metrics for deployed systems. Examples of Army near term applications include soldier wearable power devices and magnetic actuators for soft robotics. The developed fabrication process can be directly used to construct miniaturized electro-permanent-magnets (EPMÕs) needed for DEVCOM ARLÕs through-metal acoustic wireless power transfer work (the EPMÕs used to enhance mechanical coupling), which is used for autonomous UAV recharging platforms and power/data transfer applications. With the PI also being a leader in the field of EPM miniaturization, this effort will enable our acoustic transfer technology to achieve 20 times higher power densities than traditional inductive power transfer technologies. Innovation: UC-Irvine has recently discovered a class of 3D-printed flexible and multimaterial magnetic nanocomposites (NdFeB, Fe,Fe3O4, SmCo, or BaFe12O19) with sub-millimeter resolution using digital light processing (DLP), which allow the tailoring of soft/hard magnetic properties such as saturation magnetization, permeability, remanence, ferromagnetic resonance (41-53 GHz wide range), frequency stability, and electrical conductivity/capacitance, achieved through adjusting nanoparticle concentration and inducing magnetic anisotropy during printing. This lays the groundwork to demonstrate, for the first time, the ability to selectively align/magnetize a magnetic nanocomposite during the manufacturing process. Using a similar selective printing process, the PI was also able to construct a highly miniaturized 3.8 mm3 volume EPM, with full electronics and remote-control capability, which is the smallest EPM ever demonstrated in literature (four orders of magnitude volume reduction compared to commercially available EPMÕs). The printing process also enabled the PI to utilize an optimized axisymmetric magnetic array design, which provides a higher controllable magnetic latching force within a smaller volume. Effort Description: In this 6.1 effort, we will study how to tailor individual magnetic properties without affecting the printing conditions and degrading the material mechanical stability. The impact of printing in the presence of external magnetic fields will also be studied. Major milestones include: (Year 1) Demonstrate printing of magnetic materials with tunable material properties using DLP with substantial increment on the magnetic concentration and selected ferromagnetic nanomaterials. (Year 2) Demonstrate integration of laser additive manufacturing and selective alignment/magnetization (using a constructed multi-axis magnetization head) for full control of magnetization and other material properties.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 27, 2023
- Source ID
- W911NF2310292
Entities
People
- Camilo Velez Cuervo
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of California, Irvine