Thesis supervisor: Kolos Molnár
Location of studies (in Hungarian): BME Department of Polymer Engineering Abbreviation of location of studies: PT
Description of the research topic:
a.) Antecedents:
The product of electrospinning is a very fine nonwoven fabric of continuous nanofibers; a thin veil that can be handled as a porous membrane. It has many potential uses, such as scaffolds, drug delivery systems, filtering media, energy storage & harvesting, sensors, composites. The fiber mats are very fragile; hence it is advantageous to combine those with other structures such as microfibers & other reinforcing structures, matrix materials and 3D-printed elements with tiny, well-defined repeating patterns.
b.) Aim of research:
The aim of the research is to create nanofiber-based porous hierarchical 3D structures that could be used as scaffolds, shape-memory or energy harvesting devices.
c.) Tasks, main items, necessary time:
• Literature review in the field of electrospun nanofibers, 3D & 4D printing of shape memory and auxetic structures, nanofibers in composites and hierarchical structures, mechanical properties of nanofiber mats and related test methods (approx. 9 months).
• Fabrication of continuous, oriented, and randomly aligned nanofiber fabrics using needleless electrospinning techniques and combining those with 3D- and 4D-printed structures to create engineered porous media and multifunctional structures (approx. 12 months).
• Testing the mechanical performance of the obtained structures including flexural properties, Poisson’s ratio, shape-memory performance. Investigation of the morphology focusing on controlled porosity and the adhesion between the printed and nanofiber layers (approx. 15 months).
• Analysis, comparative study and modelling the shape memory & shape transition processes of the hierarchical structures. Structure-property relationships (approx. 12 months).
d.) Required equipment:
The necessary equipment is available at the laboratory of the Department; besides some test devices are to be developed and built as a part of the research.
e.) Expected scientific results:
Elaboration of novel, multifunctional structures that are combinations of nanofiber webs and 3D printed structures. The structures may be flexible, porous, auxetic and may be attributed with shape-memory behaviour. Mapping their potential application as scaffolds is also in our focus.
f.) References:
• Kara Y., Kovács N. K., Nagy-György P., Boros R., Molnár K.: A novel method and printhead for 3D printing combined nano-/microfiber solid structures. Additive Manufacturing, 61, 103315 (2023).
• He H., Gao M., Illés B., Molnár K.: 3D printed and electrospun, transparent, hierarchical polylactic acid mask nanoporous filter. International Journal of Bioprinting, 194, 108902 (2020).
Required language skills: ENGLISH Number of students who can be accepted: 1
Deadline for application: 2024-10-15
2024. IV. 17. ODT ülés Az ODT következő ülésére 2024. június 14-én, pénteken 10.00 órakor kerül sor a Semmelweis Egyetem Szenátusi termében (Bp. Üllői út 26. I. emelet).
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