Here we report the first example of a class of additively manufactured carbon fiber reinforced composite (AMCFRC) materials which have been achieved through the use of a latent thermal cured aromatic thermoset resin system, through an adaptation of direct ink writing (DIW) 3D-printing technology. We have developed a means of printing high performance thermoset carbon fiber composites, which allow the fiber component of a resin and carbon fiber fluid to be aligned in three dimensions via controlled micro-extrusion and subsequently cured into complex geometries. Characterization of our composite systems clearly show that we achieved a high order of fiber alignment within the composite microstructure, which in turn allows these materials to outperform equivalently filled randomly oriented carbon fiber and polymer composites. Furthermore, our AM carbon fiber composite systems exhibit highly orthotropic mechanical and electrical responses as a direct result of the alignment of carbon fiber bundles in the microscale which we predict will ultimately lead to the design of truly tailorable carbon fiber/polymer hybrid materials having locally programmable complex electrical, thermal and mechanical response.

A rapidly growing instability is observed to develop between unequal-strength counter- rotating vortex pairs. The vortex pairs are generated in a towing tank in the wakes of wings with outboard triangular flaps. The vortices from the wing tip and the inboard tip of the flap form the counter-rotating vortex pair on each side of the wing. The flow fields are studied using flow visualization and particle image velocimetry. Both chord- based and circulation-based Reynolds numbers are of O(105). The circulation strength ratios of the flap- to tip-vortex pairs range from −0.4 to −0.7. The initial sinuous stage of the instability of the weaker flap vortex has a wavelength of order one wing span and becomes observable in about 15 wing spans downstream of the wing. The nearly straight vortex filaments first form loops around the stronger wing-tip vortices. The loops soon detach and form rings and move in the wake under self-induction. These vortex rings can move to the other side of the wake. The subsequent development of the instability makes the nearly quasi-steady and two-dimensional wakes unsteady and three-dimensional over a distance of 50 to 100 wing spans. A rectangular wing is also used to generate the classical wake vortex pair with the circulation ratio of −1.0, which serves as a reference flow. This counter-rotating vortex pair, under similar experimental conditions, takes over 200 spans to develop visible deformations. Velocity, vorticity and enstrophy measurements in a fixed plane, in conjuction with the flow observations, are used to quantify the behaviour of the vortex pairs. The vortices in a pair initially orbit around their vorticity centroid, which takes the pair out of the path of the wing. Once the three-dimensional interactions develop, two-dimensional kinetic energy and enstrophy drop, and enstrophy dispersion radius increases sharply. This rapid transformation of the wake into a highly three-dimensional one offers a possible way of alleviating the hazard posed by the vortex wake of transport aircraft.

We have fabricated a low-cost disposable polymerase chain reaction thermal chamber that uses buoyancy forces to move the sample solution between the different temperatures necessary for amplification. Three-dimensional, unsteady finite element modeling and a simpler 1-D steady-state model are used together with digital particle image velocimetry data to characterize the flow within the device. Biological samples have been amplified using this novel thermal chamber. Time for amplification is less than 30 min. More importantly, an analysis of the energy consumption shows significant improvements over current technology.

Abstract. Conventional embolization of cerebral aneurysms using detachable coils is time-consuming and often requires retreatment. These drawbacks have prompted the development of new methods of aneurysm occlusion. We present the fabrication and laser deployment of a shape memory ͑SMP͒ polymer expanding foam device. Data acquired in an in vitro basilar aneurysm model with and without flow showed successful treatment, with the flow rate affecting foam expansion and the temperature at the aneurysm wall. © 2007 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.