Applications of Additively Manufactured Composites, Functionally Graded Materials and Smart Structures

Additive manufacturing (AM) has transformed the new advanced material design, such as the complex geometry and properties that sometimes elude conventional methods. The chapter covers applications of additively manufactured composites, smart structures, and functionally graded materials (FGM) to change their scope with every industry. Additively manufactured composites are lightweight and high-strength like traditional composites but with added freedom of design by AM. Applications for additively made composite materials can be found in the biomedical, automotive, and aerospace industries. FGMs provide a solution for compatibility between thermal and mechanical ends because their properties vary quite gradually. Applications requiring multiple functions and high levels of stress would greatly benefit from these. The addition of smart materials to AM has opened new avenues for creating adaptive and self-responsive structures. Smart structures may include piezoelectric materials, shape memory alloys (SMA), or even self-healing polymers, playing a very important role in healthcare, robotics, and monitoring. A 4D-printed medical stent using shape memory alloy serves as an exemplar of the synergy between AM and smart materials. It is a stent for minimally invasive surgery; it shows adaptive behaviour, being patient-specific and having enhanced performance. The seemingly endless possibilities presented by AM are contrasted with concerns about cost, scalability, and material compatibility. This section focuses on concluded with a discussion of recent trends in multi-material printing and the inclusion of artificial intelligence (AI) in AM design, highlighting the interdisciplinary research required to tap the technologies’ full potential.