Architectural scale biomimetic composites based on chitosan and alginate hydrogels

Developmental research and characterization was conducted on novel biomaterials for a larger project of product and architectural scale digital fabrication using natural bioplastics and hierarchical computational design carried out by the Mediated Matter team, led by Laia Mogas-Soldevila and Jorge Duro-Royo. Chitosan and alginate (among other natural polymers) are processed from shellfish waste and algae, respectively, and highly viscous solutions are extruded as a layer-by-layer printing material which dries into a solid, single material product with spatially variable functionality. Additional solid materials are added including cellulose microfibers and kaolinite platelets as volumetric aggregates, strengthening or stiffening aggregates, and as modes for directional properties. All materials used for aggregates, like that of the hydrogel matrices, were naturally sourced and recyclable. These composite materials were analyzed through microscopy and mechanical testing to begin to determine their agency in the aforementioned purposes. The most promising materials were selected and then discussed at length in an attempt to understand the factors behind ease of production, scalability, and potential for optimization, and as the research continues, they will be tested in the digital fabrication platform at the installation scale.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Lizardo, Daniel (Daniel H.)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Neri Oxman.

• Materials Science and Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98654

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/98654