Keywords

Heat Exchanger, Volumetric 3D Printing, Resin-based Additive Manufacturing, Vat Photopolymerization, High Temperature Ceramics, Multiphysics Simulation

Abstract

Ceramics have offered a variety of high temperature applications for extreme environments such as power generation, thermal protection systems, aero-prolusion, and space exploration. They possess high strength and modulus at high temperatures and inherent corrosion resistance. Recent advances in 3D printing allow manufacturing of ceramic structures with more intricate designs and multi-functionalities. In this study, the masked stereolithography (mSLA) technique was utilized to fabricate a thin, light weight, and compact counterflow ceramic heat exchanger. The slurry feedstock of alumina was selected for fabrication of the heat exchanger due to high heat resistance and tailorable thermal conductivity. Material characterization including SEM, EDS and TGA was performed on the 3D-printed parts after sintering. Mechanical properties such as porosity and density of the 3D-printed ceramic structures were measured. Furthermore, multi-physics modeling and simulation was used to investigate the heat transfer efficiency of the ceramic heat exchanger. Parametric study was performed based on various design parameters of the ceramic heat exchanger such as wall thickness and thermophysical properties of ceramics. This study has also explored the volumetric 3D printing technique of ceramics using the transparent photo-curable nanocomposite resin. This printing technique built ceramic structures from a series of axial slices projected onto a rotating resin tank. The volumetric 3D printing system developed in this study could offer an opportunity to print continuous fiber reinforced ceramic composites or ceramic structures with embedded sensors.

Completion Date

2025

Semester

Spring

Committee Chair

Gou, Jihua

Degree

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (M.S.M.E.)

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Identifier

DP0029419

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

Download

Share

COinS