UH engineers create bendable ceramics using origami-inspired 3D printing, overcoming brittleness for high-stress applications.
Researchers at the University of Houston (UH) have developed a novel method to create flexible ceramics using origami-inspired designs and 3D printing, addressing the material’s historical brittleness. The innovation could expand ceramics’ use in aerospace, medical devices, and robotics.
The team, led by Maksud Rahman, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and postdoctoral researcher Md Shajedul Hoque Thakur, used the Miura-ori folding pattern often used in paper origami as a template to 3D print sheets of ceramic. Such structures were encapsulated with a stretchable polymer to avoid cracking under loading. The results were published in Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials.
Ceramics, while lightweight and biocompatible, often fail abruptly under mechanical strain. In lab tests, the polymer-coated ceramics flexed and recovered during repeated compression, unlike uncoated versions that shattered. Computer simulations confirmed improved toughness in traditionally weak directions.
“Ceramics are durable but fail catastrophically. We aimed to make that failure safer,” said Rahman. The approach could enable ceramics to withstand high-stress environments, such as prosthetics or spacecraft components.
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Further testing is required before commercial use, but the study marks progress in adapting brittle materials for flexible applications.
