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Journal article
Compatibility of Methacrylate Based Resins Controls Interfacial Failure and Toughness in 3D-Printed Multimaterial Composites
Advanced Engineering Materials, pp e70986-e70986
May 2026
Featured in Collection : Research Supported by Drexel Libraries' OA Programs
Abstract
Thermosetting polymers are widely used in load-bearing applications for their strength, durability, low cost, and ease of processing, yet they are limited by low toughness. This work explores how digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing can address this limitation by creating multimaterial structures with controlled resin formulations, spatial patterns, and interfacial characteristics. Two neat resins were used, a strong but brittle formulation (DA-2) and a ductile and tough formulation (Tenacious), along with three blends (DT80, DT60, DT40). A variety of patterned architectures was printed and tested under uniaxial tension. To interpret failure behavior, a phase-field fracture model was developed to analyze stress distributions and crack initiation, propagation, and branching. The fracture responses of pure bars (DA-2, Tenacious, DT80) and composite grid-filled bars (Tenacious with either DA-2 or DT80) were examined. Experiments and simulations showed that mismatches in material properties strongly affect load transfer across interfaces and thus govern overall mechanical performance. Structures containing blended resins exhibited substantially higher toughness than those with only pure DA-2, demonstrating that transitional interfaces between dissimilar materials improve stress transfer and enable synergistic behavior. These findings provide design guidelines for multimaterial DLP-printed thermoset composites with enhanced interfacial performance.
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Details
- Title
- Compatibility of Methacrylate Based Resins Controls Interfacial Failure and Toughness in 3D-Printed Multimaterial Composites
- Creators
- Ahmed M. H. Ibrahim - Drexel UniversityLi Meng - Drexel University, Mechanical Engineering and MechanicsAhmad Raeisi Najafi - Drexel University, Mechanical Engineering and MechanicsNicolas J Alvarez (Corresponding Author) - Drexel University, Chemical and Biological Engineering
- Publication Details
- Advanced Engineering Materials, pp e70986-e70986
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Number of pages
- 14
- Grant note
- DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory: W911NF-17-2-0227, W911NF-24-2-0134
This work was supported by DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory (Grants W911NF-17-2-0227, W911NF-24-2-0134).
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Materials Science and Engineering; Chemical and Biological Engineering; Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001791277600001
- Other Identifier
- 991022189375004721