Method for the design and manufacture of composites having tunable physical properties
View Patent ↗A method of designing and manufacturing a replica composite object based on an original object. The method identifies the structure and physical properties of an original object. Base materials, bodies, and structural templates, each of which includes associated physical properties, are utilized to generate a 3-dimensional model. The 3-dimensional model is discretized and tested to determine if the selected combination of base materials and bodies have physical properties that substantially equal the physical properties of the original object. If the physical properties do not equate, the 3-dimensional model is optimized by adjusting the combination of base materials, bodies, and structural templates. When the difference between the measured physical properties of the 3-dimensional model and the identified physical properties of the original object is less than a tolerance value, the method instructs an additive manufacturing system to generate a replica composite object based on the original object.
1. A method for the design and manufacture of a bioscaffold based on a target biological tissue, the method comprising the steps of:
identifying a target biological tissue including a plurality of layers, each layer having a set of physical properties;
selecting a structural template to match a structure of the target biological tissue;
determining at least one base material and at least one body to match each set of physical properties, wherein the at least one body further comprises a volume and is defined by a boundary, the least one base material and the at least one body including one or more anisotropic physical properties that exhibit orientation-dependent mechanical behavior;
generating a three-dimensional model of the target biological tissue;
discretizing the three-dimensional model;
performing a simulation on the discretized three-dimensional model to measure responses to one or more stimulus;
comparing the responses to the one or more stimulus with corresponding physical responses of the target biological tissue;
optimizing the discretized three-dimensional model by:
selecting at least one body, and adjusting the selected at least one body by adjusting at least one of the volume and the boundary of the at least one body, such that each body is independently tunable, based on the compared responses between the three-dimensional model and the target biological tissue, to substantially equate the one or more anisotropic physical properties of the bioscaffold with the set of physical properties of the target biological tissue, and
manufacturing a bioscaffold having the one or more anisotropic physical properties to match the set of physical properties of the target biological tissue.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of modifying the boundary of the at least one body to increase an effective surface area of the at least one body, thereby mitigating shear of the bioscaffold.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of dividing the three-dimensional model into a plurality of units each including at least one body, wherein the at least one body of adjacent units are in contact.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the at least one body of adjacent units are combined via material blending, thereby fine-tuning the one or more anisotropic physical properties of the bioscaffold.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the discretized three-dimensional model includes a finite number of single or multi-dimensional elements, each element having one or more associated anisotropic physical properties.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of comparing the responses of the three-dimensional model and of the target biological tissues further comprises a finite element analysis.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of determining whether the responses of the three-dimensional model differ from the responses of the target biological tissue by more than a tolerance value.
8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising a step of, based on a determination that the responses of the three-dimensional model differ from the responses of the target biological tissue by more than the tolerance value, optimizing the one or more anisotropic physical properties of the bioscaffold by adjusting the determined at least one base material and at least one body.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein, based on a determination that the responses of the three-dimensional model differ from the responses of the target biological tissue by less than the tolerance value, the step of manufacturing a bioscaffold further comprises instructing an additive manufacturing system to manufacture the bioscaffold.
10. A method for the design and manufacture of a bioscaffold based on a target biological tissue, the method comprising the steps of:
identifying a plurality of physical properties of a target biological tissue by subjecting the target biological tissue to a physical stimulus;
generating a three-dimensional model of a bioscaffold designed to match a structure of the target biological tissue, the bioscaffold including a base material and a body, wherein the body further comprises a volume and is defined by a boundary, the base material and the body together having a plurality of associated anisotropic physical properties;
calculating the plurality of associated anisotropic physical properties of the bioscaffold by subjecting the bioscaffold to a virtual stimulus based on the physical stimulus;
comparing the plurality of associated anisotropic physical properties of the bioscaffold with the identified plurality of physical properties of the target biological tissue; and
optimizing the discretized three-dimensional model by:
adjusting at least one of the body of the bioscaffold and the base material of the bioscaffold, wherein adjusting the body of the bioscaffold includes adjusting at least one of the volume and the boundary of the body, such that the body is independently tunable, based on the compared responses between the bioscaffold and the target biological tissue, to substantially equate the plurality of associated anisotropic physical properties of the bioscaffold with identified plurality of physical properties of the target biological tissue.
11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising a step of manufacturing the bioscaffold having the plurality of associated anisotropic physical properties to match the identified plurality of physical properties of the target biological tissue.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the bioscaffold further comprises a plurality of bodies, wherein each body further comprises a volume and is defined by a boundary, such that each body is independently tunable to substantially equate the plurality of associated anisotropic physical properties of the bioscaffold with the identified plurality of physical properties of the target biological tissue.
13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising a step of modifying the boundary of at least one of the plurality of bodies to increase an effective surface area of contact between the plurality of bodies, thereby mitigating shear of the bioscaffold.
14. The method of claim 10 , further comprising a step of determining whether the calculated plurality of associated anisotropic physical properties of the bioscaffold differ from the identified plurality of physical properties of the target biological tissue by more than a tolerance value.
15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising a step of, based on a determination that the calculated plurality of associated anisotropic physical properties of the bioscaffold differ from the identified plurality of physical properties of the target biological tissue by more than the tolerance value, optimizing the plurality of associated anisotropic physical properties of the bioscaffold by adjusting at least one of the base material and the body.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein, based on a determination that the calculated plurality of associated anisotropic physical properties of the bioscaffold differ from the identified plurality of physical properties of the target biological tissue by less than the tolerance value, further comprising a step of manufacturing the bioscaffold having the plurality of associated anisotropic physical properties to match the identified plurality of physical properties of the target biological tissue.