Pellet-fed continuous-silk-fibre 3D/4D printing of PLA/bamboo-charcoal bio-composites with shape recovery and thermomechanical stability

Rahmani, K ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0815-1562, Ravanbod, S ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6944-5847, Dezaki, ML ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5680-1550, Branfoot, C and Bodaghi, M ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0707-944X, 2026. Pellet-fed continuous-silk-fibre 3D/4D printing of PLA/bamboo-charcoal bio-composites with shape recovery and thermomechanical stability. Materials and Design, 264: 115704. ISSN 0264-1275

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Abstract

A pellet-fed extrusion platform with integrated continuous-fibre co-deposition is presented, enabling 3D/4D printing of bio-composites directly from pellets, avoiding a separate filament-making step, thereby reducing time, energy, and material waste. A polylactic acid/bamboo-charcoal/continuous-silk-fibre (PLA/BC/CSF) system was formulated to overcome PLA’s low strength, thermal creep, and flammability. With 3 wt% BC, PLA tensile strength increased by 28%; with CSF, tensile strength reached 108 MPa (+213% vs PLA). Three-point bending strength rose + 247% over PLA (+200% vs PLA/BC; +40% vs PLA/CSF). The burning rate decreased by 41% relative to PLA, evidencing improved flame resistance. Under 70 °C and constant load, PLA/BC/CSF beams retained geometry whereas PLA sagged, confirming superior thermo-mechanical stability. Architected honeycomb and trapezium meta-composites printed from PLA/BC/CSF exhibited quasi-constant force, and quasi-zero stiffness plateaus with energy dissipation and shape recovery (full after 25% compression; 85% recovery after 45% upon heat activation), supporting reuse and overload protection. The approach delivers a low-cost, lower-energy route to continuous-fibre bio-composites and demonstrates printable, recoverable components for logistics and automotive use (e.g., pallets, chassis inserts, dashboard face-parts), advancing sustainable additive manufacturing and circular-economy goals.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Materials and Design
Creators:	Rahmani, K., Ravanbod, S., Dezaki, M.L., Branfoot, C. and Bodaghi, M.
Publisher:	Elsevier
Date:	April 2026
Volume:	264
ISSN:	0264-1275
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1016/j.matdes.2026.115704 DOI 2581154 Other
Rights:	© 2026 the author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Divisions:	Schools > School of Science and Technology
Record created by:	Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added:	24 Feb 2026 16:04
Last Modified:	24 Feb 2026 16:04
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/55328

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