Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (AM2) laboratories
About Am2
Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (AM2) laboratories aim at using novel experimental, simulation and analytical methods to explore advanced materials and to manufacture industrially relevant parts with a variety of advanced manufacturing techniques such as robotic systems and additive manufacturing. Our group seeks to advance the fields of aerospace, biomedical, automotive, and energy sectors, as well as to train the next generation researchers and engineers in these fields.
Research
Multi-Material Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing)
Our primary research is to develop the next generation of high volume, scalable multi-material additive manufacturing technologies capable of fabrication materials with sub-micron resolutions. Fabrication and characterizations of these micro-structured hierarchical materials will be made possible by leveraging the unique opto-mechanical platforms for fabrication of highly complex, three-dimensional structures with micro-scale architecture and submicron precision. Multiple distinct caterogeries of feedstock material capabilities are developed: 1) The ability to assemble a variety of intrinsic materials and their composites (polymer, metallic or ceramic at~10-100 um) into a larger material with three-dimensional arbitary features, 2) 3D additive manufacturing of materials using Direct Ink Writing (DIW), UV-assisted Freeform printing, and Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF).
UV-assisted multi-material multi-process additive manufacturing
Multi-material multi-process 3D printing of piezoelectric energy harvesting devices
Related references
1. Rafiee, M., Farahani, R. D., & Therriault, D. (2020). Multi‐Material 3D and 4D Printing: A Survey. Advanced Science, 1902307.
Advanced Composite Materials
My program aims at developing solutions for high performance structural composites with enhanced multifunctional capabilities such as mechanical, thermal, electrical and fire resistance. The program is focused on key aspects of material science and engineering including manufacturing, optimization of material performance (damage tolerance and impact resistance), material characterization at different length scales (nanoindentation, X-ray tomography) and development of modelling tools for both virtual processing and virtual testing. Manufacturing of composites by injection/infusion/pultrusion/RTM or prepreg consolidation is assisted by advanced sensors that support the use of smart manufacturing techniques toward process optimization. Multiscale physically-based simulation tools are envisaged to predict the mechanical performance of structural composites as a function of their structure allowing a significant reduction of costly experimental campaigns.
Carbon nanomaterials such as graphene and carbon nanotubes have wide range of applications:
Fabrication process of some of these applications are shown below:
Vaccum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM) using CNTs/epoxy and Graphene/epoxy nanocomposites
Cutting process for fabrication of carbon fiber drone blades
Fabrication process of carbon fiber nanocomposite drone blades using VARTM
Wide range of characterizations have been performed to evaluate the thermo-electro-mechanical properties of the developed composites:
Related references
1. Rafiee, M., Nitzsche, F., Laliberte, J., Hind, S., Robitaille, F., & Labrosse, M. R. (2019). Thermal properties of doubly reinforced fiberglass/epoxy composites with graphene nanoplatelets, graphene oxide and reduced-graphene oxide. Composites Part B: Engineering, 164, 1-9.
2. Rafiee, M., Nitzsche, F., & Labrosse, M. R. (2019). Processing, manufacturing, and characterization of vibration damping in epoxy composites modified with graphene nanoplatelets. Polymer Composites, 40(10), 3914-3922.
3. Rafiee, M., Nitzsche, F., & Labrosse, M. R. (2019). Fabrication and experimental evaluation of vibration and damping in multiscale graphene/fiberglass/epoxy composites. Journal of Composite Materials, 53(15), 2105-2118.
4. Rafiee, M., Nitzsche, F., Laliberte, J., Thibault, J., & Labrosse, M. R. (2019). Simultaneous reinforcement of matrix and fibers for enhancement of mechanical properties of graphene‐modified laminated composites. Polymer Composites, 40(S2), E1732-E1745.
5. Rafiee, M., Nitzsche, F., & Labrosse, M. R. (2018). Effect of functionalization of carbon nanotubes on vibration and damping characteristics of epoxy nanocomposites. Polymer Testing, 69, 385-395.
Fabrication of electronic devices on different flexible substrates is an area of significant interest due to low cost, ease of fabrication, and manufacturing at ambient conditions over large areas. Over the time, a number of printing technologies have been developed to fabricate a wide range of electronic devices on nonconventional substrates according to the targeted applications. As an increasing interest of electronic industry in printed electronics, further expansion of printed technologies is expected in near future to meet the challenges of the field in terms of scalability, yield, and diversity and biocompatibility.
Research and development on new materials, ink compositions, and process optimization for production of electronic components and circuits have been one of the expertise of our lab. We strive to develop low-temperature processes on flexible substrates by rethinking each step from ink formation to circuit design.
Total solution of printed electronics
Inks
graphene conductive ink
Printing
Custom-made multi-material multi-process 3D printing system with 4 independent printing head
Products
Strain sensors
Main application
Integrated smart systems
Wearable electronics
3D printed sensors
Antenna, 3D products, fiber optics
Film heaters
Mirror heater, mat, etc.
Related references
1. Rafiee, M., Farahani, R. D., & Therriault, D. (2020). Multi‐Material 3D and 4D Printing: A Survey. Advanced Science, 1902307.
Piezoelectric materials offer the most direct way of converting mechanical energy into an electrical potential or vice versa. Applications that utilize these effects are far reaching, ranging from loud speakers and acoustic imaging to energy harvesting and electrical actuators. However, piezoelectrics are intrinsically low power density materials and it has been difficult to boost the performance of these materials. It has been shown that reducing the dimensionality of the material can slightly enhance the piezoelectric coefficient, but major breakthroughs in the efficiency of these materials are required if they are to compete with higher power output and more sensitive electronic/photonic devices. We are therefore interested in understanding if the efficiency of piezoelectric materials is fundamentally limited or engineering limited. To help address this we have been investigating various ways to make new composite piezoelectric materials and interface the piezoelectric to different materials in order to enhance the energy transfer process or capture energy from mechanical and non-mechanical energy sources (e.g., light, chemical, heat, etc.).
Related references
Rafiee, M., He, X. Q., & Liew, K. M. (2014). Nonlinear analysis of piezoelectric nanocomposite energy harvesting plates. Smart Materials and Structures, 23(6), 065001.
He, X. Q., Rafiee, M., & Mareishi, S. (2015). Nonlinear dynamics of piezoelectric nanocomposite energy harvesters under parametric resonance. Nonlinear Dynamics, 79(3), 1863-1880.
Rafiee, M., Yang, J., & Kitipornchai, S. (2013). Large amplitude vibration of carbon nanotube reinforced functionally graded composite beams with piezoelectric layers. Composite Structures, 96, 716-725.
Rafiee, M., Yang, J., & Kitipornchai, S. (2013). Thermal bifurcation buckling of piezoelectric carbon nanotube reinforced composite beams. Computers & Mathematics with Applications, 66(7), 1147-1160.
Rafiee, M., He, X. Q., & Liew, K. M. (2014). Non-linear dynamic stability of piezoelectric functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composite plates with initial geometric imperfection. International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics, 59, 37-51.
Rafiee, M., Liu, X. F., He, X. Q., & Kitipornchai, S. (2014). Geometrically nonlinear free vibration of shear deformable piezoelectric carbon nanotube/fiber/polymer multiscale laminated composite plates. Journal of Sound and Vibration, 333(14), 3236-3251.
Rafiee, M., Mohammadi, M., Aragh, B. S., & Yaghoobi, H. (2013). Nonlinear free and forced thermo-electro-aero-elastic vibration and dynamic response of piezoelectric functionally graded laminated composite shells, Part I: Theory and analytical solutions. Composite Structures, 103, 179-187.
Rafiee, M., Mohammadi, M., Aragh, B. S., & Yaghoobi, H. (2013). Nonlinear free and forced thermo-electro-aero-elastic vibration and dynamic response of piezoelectric functionally graded laminated composite shells, Part II: Numerical Results. Composite Structures, 103, 188-196.
Rafiee, M., He, X. Q., Mareishi, S., & Liew, K. M. (2015). Nonlinear response of piezoelectric nanocomposite plates: Large deflection, post-buckling and large amplitude vibration. International Journal of Applied Mechanics, 7(05), 1550074.
Architected Materials
Advanced manufacturing techniques such as additive Manufacturing has the potential to revolutionize materials properties and to thereby greatly expand the design space available to engineers. This could have a major impact in industries where system design and performance is constrained by materials properties, including transportation, robotics, aerospace, and medicine. However, many challenges stand in the way, including limited design tools, a limited materials palette, and an inability of classic analytical approaches to describe the complex, heterogeneous materials produced by multimaterial additive manufacturing techniques. At AM2, we investigates the above challenges.
Related references
1. Rafiee, M., Farahani, R. D., & Therriault, D. (2020). Multi‐Material 3D and 4D Printing: A Survey. Advanced Science, 1902307.
Modeling and Simulation
Material properties of multiscale composites
Functionally graded materials
Piezoelectric materials and structures
Structural response
Manufacturing processes
Related references
Rafiee, M., He, X. Q., & Liew, K. M. (2014). Nonlinear analysis of piezoelectric nanocomposite energy harvesting plates. Smart Materials and Structures, 23(6), 065001.
People
Ph.D.
Mohammad Rafiee, PhD
Significance of leadership contributions
‒ Leadership recognition in research
- 50+ publications: 30 journal papers (85% as first author and/or corresponding author), 21 conference papers
- 1600+ citations with an h-index of 23 (Google Scholar)
- 10+ talks in internationally-recognized conferences, seminars and symposiums
- Featured among World’s Top 2% Scientists in 2021 according to Stanford University
- Recipient of various honors and awards including the prestigious Ontario Trillium Scholarship ($180k for 4 years of PHD), FRQNT Postdoctoral Scholarship (90k for 2 years of postdoc) and one of the two finalists for the best PHD Thesis Award (Governor General’s Gold Medal in Science and Engineering)
- Assisted in grant applications: NSERC CRD ($1.064M), NSERC Alliance ($420k), and DND ($200k)
- Co-supervised Undergraduate (8), Master’s (5), and PhD (1) students
- Hold collaborative research with engineers and scientists from Hong Kong, Australia, Iran, Brazil, Greece, Germany, China, and Canada
- Extensive collaborations with various industrial partners (Xerox, Nanocyl, Kopter Group, etc.) and government labs (NRC Montreal and Ottawa)
‒ Leadership recognition in teaching
- 3+ years of teaching experience as a Part-time Professor for various undergraduate and graduate courses and professional development workshops
- Leader for the design of three undergraduate and graduate courses: Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Materials and Advanced Manufacturing
- Holder of Certificate in University Teaching offered by the University of Ottawa through completing 25 hours of professional development workshops and the following courses: Theory and Practice of Undergraduate Teaching, Technology and University Teaching, and Practicum in University Teaching
‒ Leadership recognition in professional service
- Serves as an Associate Editor, Guest Editor and editorial board member for some scientific journals
- Session chair for three international conferences
- Peer-reviewed 200+ manuscripts for 50+ academic journals.
- Global Peer Review Awards: Top 1% of reviewers in 2019 (Web of Science)
Significance of research contributions
- · Performed extensive research projects using fused deposition modeling, direct ink writing (DIW), and stereolithography
- · Leader for development of ultra-stretchable highly conductive silver inks for DIW
- · Leader for development of ultra-stretchable piezoelectric inks for DIW
- · Contributed to the development of FDM 3D printed piezoelectric films
- · Designed and additively manufactured energy harvesting devices, flexible piezoelectric sensors, and lattice structures.
- · Designed and developed a large-scale manufacturing process for production of multi-functional fiber-reinforced nanocomposites modified with carbon nanomaterials: graphene family and carbon nanotubes
UV-assisted multi-material multi-process additive manufacturing
Publications
Peer-reviewed journal papers
( *=corresponding author)
29. Rafiee, M., Farahani, R.D., Therriault, D., Advances in Coaxial Additive Manufacturing and Applications, Advanced Materials Technologies, 2100356, 2021, (IF:7.848)
28. Rafiee, M., Farahani, R.D., Therriault, D., Multi-material 3D and 4D printing: A survey, Advanced Science, 1902307, 2020, (IF:15.804)
27. Rafiee, M.*, Nitzsche, F., Labrosse, M., Significant Fatigue Life Enhancement in Multiscale Doubly-Modified Fiber/Epoxy Nanocomposites with Graphene Nanoplatelets and Reduced-Graphene Oxide, Polymers, 12(9)(2020), 2135-2147, (IF: 4.329)
26. Rafiee, M.*, Nitzsche, F., Labrosse, M., Processing, manufacturing and characterization of vibration damping in epoxy composites modified with graphene nanoplatelets, Polymer Composites, 40(10)(2019), 3914-3922, (IF: 2.265)
25. Rafiee, M.*, Nitzsche, F., Labrosse, M., Fabrication and experimental evaluation of vibration and damping in multiscale graphene/fiberglass/epoxy composites, Journal of Composite Materials, 53 (15)(2019), 2105–2118, (IF: 1.972)
24. Rafiee, M.*, Nitzsche, F., Laliberte, J., Robitaille, F, Hind, S., Labrosse, M., Thermal properties of doubly reinforced fiberglass/epoxy composites with graphene nanoplatelets, graphene oxide and reduced-graphene oxide, Composites Part B: Engineering, 164(2019), 1-9, (IF: 7.635)
23. Rafiee, M.*, Nitzsche, F., Laliberte, J., Thibault, J., Labrosse, M., Simultaneous reinforcement of matrix and fibers for enhancement of mechanical properties of graphene-modified laminated composites, Polymer Composites 40 (2019), E1732-E1745, (IF: 2.265)
22. Rafiee, M.*, Nitzsche, F., Labrosse, M., Effect of functionalization of carbon nanotubes on vibration and damping characteristics of epoxy nanocomposites, Polymer Testing, 69(2018), 385-395, (IF: 3.275)
21. Rafiee, M.*, Nitzsche, F., Labrosse, M., Modeling and mechanical analysis of multiscale fiber-reinforced graphene composites: Nonlinear bending, thermal post-buckling and large amplitude vibration, International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 103(2018),104-112, (IF: 2.313)
20. Rafiee, M.*, Nitzsche, F., Labrosse, M., Cross-sectional design and analysis of carbon nanotubes-reinforced multiscale composite beams and blades, International Journal of Applied Mechanics, 10(2018), 1850032, (IF: 2.449)
19. Rafiee, M.*, Nitzsche, F., Labrosse, M., Dynamics, vibration and control of rotating composite beams and blades: A critical review, Thin-walled structures, 119(2017),795-819, (IF: 4.033)
18. Rafiee, M.*, Nitzsche, F., Labrosse, M., Rotating nanocomposite thin-walled beams undergoing large deformation, Composite Structures, 150(2016)191-199, (IF: 5.138)
17. Rafiee, M., He, XQ., Mareishi, S., K.M. Liew, Nonlinear response of smart two-phase nano-composite plates to thermomechanical and electrical loading, International Journal of Applied Mechanics, 7(05)1550074, (IF: 2.449)
16. He, XQ., Rafiee, M.*, Mareishi, S., K.M. Liew, Large amplitude vibration of fractionally damped viscoelastic CNTs/Fiber/Polymer multiscale composite beams, Composite Structures, 131 (2015) 1111-1123, (IF: 5.138)
15. Mareishi, S., Kalhori, H., Rafiee, M.*, & Hosseini, S. M. Nonlinear forced vibration response of smart two-phase nano-composite beams to external harmonic excitations. Curved and Layered Structures, 2(1) (2015), 150-161, (IF: 0.540)
14. He, XQ., Rafiee, M.*, Mareishi, S., Nonlinear dynamics of piezoelectric nanocomposite energy harvesters under parametric resonance, Nonlinear Dynamics, 79(3) (2014) 1863-1880, (IF: 4.867)
13. Rafiee, M., He, XQ., Liew, K.M., Nonlinear analysis of piezoelectric nanocomposite energy harvesting plates, Smart Materials and Structures, 23(6), (2014) 065001, (IF: 3.613)
12. Rafiee, M., He, XQ., Kitipornchai, S., Liu, M., Geometrically nonlinear free vibration of shear deformable piezoelectric CNTs/fiber/polymer laminated multiscale composite plates, Journal of Sound and Vibration, 333(14), (2014) 3236-3251, (IF: 3.429)
11. Rafiee, M., He, XQ., Mareishi, S., Liew, KM., Modeling and stress analysis of smart CNTs/fiber/polymer multi-scale composite plates, International Journal of Applied Mechanics, 6(3), (2014) 1450025, (IF: 2.449)
10. Mareishi, S., Rafiee, M., He, XQ., Nonlinear free vibration, post-buckling and large deflection static analysis of piezoelectric fiber reinforced laminated composite beams, Composites Part B: Engineering, 59(2014) 123-132, (IF: 7.635)
9. Rafiee, M., He, XQ., Liew, KM., Nonlinear dynamic stability of piezoelectric functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composite plates with initial geometric imperfection, International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics, 59(2014) 37-51, (IF: 2.313)
8. Rafiee, M., Yang, J., Kitipornchai, S., Thermal bifurcation buckling of piezoelectric carbon nanotube reinforced composite beams, Computers and Mathematics with Applications, 66(7)(2013)1147-1160, (IF: 3.370)
7. Rafiee, M., Yang, J., Kitipornchai, S., Large amplitude vibration of carbon nanotube reinforced functionally graded composite beams, Composite Structures, 2013;96: 716-725, (IF: 5.138)
6. Sobhani, B., Zeighami A., Rafiee M., Yas, MH., Wahab, MA., 3-D thermo-elastic solution for continuously graded isotropic and fiber-reinforced cylindrical shells resting on two-parameter elastic foundations, Applied Mathematical Modelling, 37(9), (2013)6556-6576, (IF: 3.633)
5. Rafiee M.*, Mohammadi M., Sobhani, S. Yaghoobi, H., Nonlinear free and forced thermo-electro-aero-elastic vibration and dynamic response of piezoelectric functionally graded laminated composite shells, Part I: Theory and analytical solutions, Composite Structures, 103(2013)179-187, (IF: 5.138)
4. Rafiee M.*, Mohammadi M., Sobhani, S. Yaghoobi, H., Nonlinear free and forced thermo-electro-aero-elastic vibration and dynamic response of piezoelectric functionally graded laminated composite shells, Part II: Numerical results, Composite Structures, 103(2013)188-196, (IF: 5.138)
3. Hosseini, SM., Mareishi, S., Kalhori, H, Rafiee, M.*, Large amplitude free and forced oscillations of functionally graded beams, Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures, 21 (4)(2014), 255-262, (IF: 3.517)
2. Rafiee, M.*, Mareishi, S., Mohammadi, M., An investigation on primary resonance phenomena of elastic medium based carbon nanotubes, Mechanics Research Communication, 44 (2012) 51-56, (IF: 2.282)
1. Shooshtari A., Rafiee, M., Nonlinear forced vibration analysis of clamped functionally graded beams, Acta Mechanica, 221(2011) 23-38, (IF: 2.102)
UV-assisted multi-material multi-process additive manufacturing
Non-peer reviewed articles
2. Rafiee, M., Sjöborg, P., Bihlmaier, A., Schiphorst, A., Industrie 4.0 Deep Dive. Part 4: Evolving Industrial Robots, Wevolver magazine, 2 July 2020 https://www.wevolver.com/article/industrie.40.deep.dive.part.5.flexible.manufacturing
1. Rafiee, M., Sjöborg, P., Bihlmaier, A., Schiphorst, A., Industrie 4.0 Deep Dive. Part 5: Flexible Manufacturing, Wevolver magazine, 26 May 2020 https://www.wevolver.com/article/industrie.40.deep.dive.part.4.evolving.industrial.robots
Teaching
Advanced Manufacturing
This course provides advanced topics on a variety of manufacturing processes, new materials, and modern methods and innovative technologies of production. The course mainly focuses on additive manufacturing, rapid prototyping and robot-assisted manufacturing for polymers, ceramics, metals and biomaterials. Other advanced manufacturing processes such as composite and nanocomposite manufacturing, advanced subtractive, net shaped and continuous processes, hybrid manufacturing, laser assisted manufacturing, and micro and nano fabrication will also be covered. Technical principles related to advanced manufacturing processes are also presented.
Additive Manufacturing
This course will cover the importance of additive manufacturing (also known as 3D Printing) and its unique role in global product development and innovation. This course aims to help undergraduate students to understand the latest developments and critical challenges of additive manufacturing, and provide students with related techniques and practical experience in developing novel additive manufacturing processes, equipment, and applications. Discussion of design tools, software and design considerations for additively manufactured components will be provided. The course will also prepare undergraduate students for careers in academia, industrial research and development, and entrepreneurship.
Advanced Materials
This course introduces advanced materials with an understanding of the key factors that govern the design and selection of them for use in advanced engineering applications, as well as their processing, properties and stability. Moreover, the course explores the technologies used in the manufacturing and processing of advanced materials and develops an understanding of the relationships between composition, microstructure, processing and performance. Students will also be trained in the essential skills needed to design and develop the next generation of advanced engineering materials, establishing a strong foundation for a future career in industry or research. Topics include advanced polymers, metals, ceramics and their composites, high-performance materials, nanomaterials, advanced sensors and smart materials.
Finite element analysis
This course introduces the basic concepts of the finite element method for stress (and structural) analysis. The method is the most powerful analytical tool ever invented for this purpose. It is very versatile and extremely popular. No student can truly hope to become a competent mechanical designer or structural engineer without a clear understanding of this method. The course introduces the basic concepts involved in finite element formulation such as degrees of freedom, stiffness, compatibility and equilibrium, the use of potential energy, matrix methods, constraints etc. Bars, beams and 2-D plane elements are derived in detail and their use is demonstrated. While the main emphasis of the course is on understanding the concepts and solving problems through manual computation, a general introduction to computer aided analysis is given depending upon the availability of facilities. Introduction to the use of non-solid elements is given by way of heat transfer and fluid mechanics.
Engineering mechanics
This course introduces the principles required to solve engineering mechanics problems. It addresses the modeling and analysis of static equilibrium problems with an emphasis on real-world engineering applications and problem solving. To master this course, you should have a background in basic calculus and physics covering classical mechanics. Concepts will be applied in this course from previous courses you have taken in basic math and physics.
News and Events
In our recent publication, we demonstrated how a combination of different #materials (#polymers, #metals and #ceramics) can be used for #3Dprinting of functional parts on planar and nonplanar surfaces within a single #additivemanufacturing platform
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/adem.202200294
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