Material Behavior During Containerless Curing of Nanocomposites for In-space Manufacturing
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: In-space manufacturing requires processing methods that produce reliable materials under containerless or reduced-gravity conditions. UV-curable photopolymer nanocomposites are promising candidates, but the liquid-to-solid transition introduces shrinkage and residual stress that may differ between Earth-based and microgravity-relevant processing. This thesis investigates how contacted (mold) and containerless (acoustic levitation) curing conditions affect the structural evolution, residual stress, and mechanical behavior of alumina-filled photopolymer nanocomposites. In-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) tracked lattice strain in the alumina phase during UV curing, with photoluminescence spectroscopy as a portable complement and post-cure compression testing relating curing condition to mechanical behavior. XRD showed that the direction of the lattice strain was reversed depending on the curing condition. Contacted curing induced tensile strain due to mold constraint, and containerless curing induced compressive strain due to free volumetric shrinkage. This difference persisted for alumina loadings from 5 to 15 vol%. Photoluminescence tracked the early-stage compressive response during curing, confirming that embedded particles can act as stress sensors. Containerless curing does not simply reduce residual stress. It reverses the strain direction and changes the mechanical and optical behavior, so materials cured under microgravity-relevant conditions cannot be assumed to be the same as those cured on Earth. This work demonstrates that acoustic levitation is a useful ground-based platform for studying microgravity-relevant curing, and that synchrotron XRD and photoluminescence spectroscopy together link real-time curing behavior to final material properties.
Author: Jantananont, Punyada
Institution: Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University
Language: English
Topic: Epoxy Resin Curing Processes
Subfield: Mechanical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7201935392