Bioderived Additive Manufacturing Technologies
The research collaboration between Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Maine (UMaine) launches the first large-scale bio-based additive manufacturing program in the US, connecting regional industry and university clusters with national lab resources. Funded by DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office, the bio-based additive manufacturing program provides students, faculty and companies with access to ORNL’s assets in advanced manufacturing and U of Maine. UT FCMF students and staff are engaged with the non-AM bioderived materials tasks within this program. The use of natural fibers in thermoplastic and thermoset resin systems, fiber length and sizing effects on properties and functions. The focus is on fundamental studies on functionalization, compounding of biofibers with recyclable thermoplastics, extrusion-compression molding, multiscale modeling and sustainability life-cycle analysis. The team is working on sustainable solutions at the fundamental and applied levels to enable solutions in automotive and industrial applications.