To read this content please select one of the options below:

Electrothermal response optimization of nozzle structure for multi-material rapid prototyping based on fuzzy adaptive control

Jinghua Xu (State Key Lab of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Key Lab of Advanced Manufacturing Technology of Zhejiang Province, School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China and Engineering Research Center for Design Engineering and Digital Twin of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China)
Kunqian Liu (Engineering Research Center for Design Engineering and Digital Twin of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China)
Zhi Liu (Engineering Research Center for Design Engineering and Digital Twin of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China)
Fuqiang Zhang (Engineering Research Center for Design Engineering and Digital Twin of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China)
Shuyou Zhang (State Key Lab of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Key Lab of Advanced Manufacturing Technology of Zhejiang Province, School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China and Engineering Research Center for Design Engineering and Digital Twin of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China)
Jianrong Tan (State Key Lab of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Key Lab of Advanced Manufacturing Technology of Zhejiang Province, School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China and Engineering Research Center for Design Engineering and Digital Twin of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China)

Rapid Prototyping Journal

ISSN: 1355-2546

Article publication date: 2 February 2022

Issue publication date: 23 May 2022

276

Abstract

Purpose

Most rapid prototyping (RP) relies on energy fields to handle materials, among which electricity has been much more utilized, resulting in distinctive responsiveness of non-linear, overshoot, variable inertia, etc. The purpose of this paper is to eliminate the drawbacks of array nozzle clogging, stringing, melt sagging, particularly in multi-material RP, by focusing on the electrothermal response so as to adaptively distribute thermal more accurate, rapid and balanced.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents an electrothermal response optimization method of nozzle structure for multi-material RP based on fuzzy adaptive control (FAC). The structural, physical and control model are successively logically built. The fractional order electrothermal model is identified by Riemann Liouville fractional differential equation, using the bisection method to approximate the physical model via least square method to minimize residual sum of squares. The FAC is thereafter implemented by defining fuzzy proportion integration differentiation control rules and fuzzy membership functions for fuzzy inference and defuzzification.

Findings

The transient thermodynamic and structural statics, as well as flow field analysis, are conducted. The response time, mean temperature difference and thermal deformation can be found using thermal-solid coupling finite element analysis. In physical experimental research, temperature change, together with material extrusion loading, were measured. Both numerical and physical studies have revealed findings that the electrothermal responsiveness varies with the three-dimensional structure, materials and energy sources, which can be optimized by FAC.

Originality/value

The proposed FAC provides an optimization method for extrusion-based multi-material RP between the balance of thermal response and energy efficiency through fulfilling potential of the hardware configuration. The originality may be widely adopted alongside increasing requirements on high quality and high efficiency RP.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The work presented in this article is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51935009; 51775494; 51821093); Zhejiang University president special fund financed by Zhejiang province (2021XZZX008); Zhejiang provincial key research and development project of China (LZY22E060002).

Citation

Xu, J., Liu, K., Liu, Z., Zhang, F., Zhang, S. and Tan, J. (2022), "Electrothermal response optimization of nozzle structure for multi-material rapid prototyping based on fuzzy adaptive control", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 28 No. 6, pp. 1168-1181. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-12-2020-0313

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles