Background Filamentous fungi of the phylum Basidiomycota are considered as an attractive source for the biotechnological production of composite materials. The ability of many basidiomycetes to accept residual lignocellulosic plant biomass from agriculture and forestry such as straw, shives and sawdust as substrates and to bind and glue together these otherwise loose but reinforcing substrate particles into their mycelial network, makes them ideal candidates to produce biological composites to replace petroleum-based synthetic plastics and foams in the near future. Results Here, we describe for the first time the application potential of the tinder fungus Fomes fomentarius for lab-scale production of mycelium composites. We used fine, medium and coarse particle fractions of hemp shives and rapeseed straw to produce a set of diverse composite materials and show that the mechanical materials properties are dependent on the nature and particle size of the substrates. Compression tests and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize composite material properties and to model their compression behaviour by numerical simulations. Their properties were compared amongst each other and with the benchmark expanded polystyrene (EPS), a petroleum-based foam used for thermal isolation in the construction industry. Our analyses uncovered that EPS shows an elastic modulus of 2.37 ± 0.17 MPa which is 4-times higher compared to the F. fomentarius composite materials whereas the compressive strength of 0.09 ± 0.003 MPa is in the range of the fungal composite material. However, when comparing the ability to take up compressive forces at higher strain values, the fungal composites performed better than EPS. Hemp-shive based composites were able to resist a compressive force of 0.2 MPa at 50% compression, rapeseed composites 0.3 MPa but EPS only 0.15 MPa. Conclusion The data obtained in this study suggest that F. fomentarius constitutes a promising cell factory for the future production of fungal composite materials with similar mechanical behaviour as synthetic foams such as EPS. Future work will focus on designing materials characteristics through optimizing substrate properties, cultivation conditions and by modulating growth and cell wall composition of F. fomentarius, i.e. factors that contribute on the meso- and microscale level to the composite behaviour.

Metamaterials response is generally modeled by generalized continuum based theories. Their inherent substructure leads to a necessity for higher-order theories, and especially in damage mechanics, such a generalization is difficult to acquire. We exploit the action formalism in order to obtain the governing equations in generalized damage mechanics for metamaterials. Additionally, by using auxilliary variables, the variational formulation is endowed with the first rate of damage variable that is missing in standard approaches. The presented action formalism with auxilliary variables leads directly to the weak form. We implement a finite element method based approach by using open-source computing platform called FEniCS and solve this weak in order to obtain the deformation and damage numerically. Metamaterials simulations are demonstrated for simple geometries in mixed mode (I and II) as well as in mode III.

Herein, the effects of recycled polymers on the mechanical properties of additively manufactured specimens, specifically those derived by fused deposition modelling, are determined. The intention is to investigate how 3D-printing can be more sustainable and how recycled polymers compare against conventional ones. Initially, sustainability is discussed in general and more sustainable materials such as recycled filaments and biodegradable filaments are introduced. Subsequently, a comparison of the recycled filament recycled Polyethylene terephthalate (rePET) and a conventional Polyethylene terephthalate with glycol (PETG) filament is drawn upon their mechanical performance under tension, and the geometry and slicing strategy for the 3D-printed specimens is discussed. Finally, the outcomes from the experiments are compared against numerically determined results and conclusions are drawn.

No abstract

Additive Manufacturing (AM), often referred to as 3D printing, is expected to have a high impact on the manufacturing industry as well as on society. The inherent characteristics of AM make it possible to help solve global challenges, which can be explored in reference to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. This is the first paper that examines the connection of AM and the 17 SDGs through a literature review. In this work, it is outlined which SDGs have a high, moderate or low potential to be fostered by AM. The SDGs are introduced and corresponding studies relevant to the respective SDG are presented. It is found that six out of 17 SDGs have high potential to be promoted by AM. These are SDG 1 (No poverty), SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 14 (Life below Water). Furthermore, two SDGs have been identified that have moderate potential to be cultivated by AM. These are SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).