PNNL

Abstract

Recent advancements in polymer composite additive manufacturing (AM) have enabled the fabrication of lightweight, customized structures with tailored mechanical and thermal performance. However, the complex interplay of processing conditions, material behavior, and microstructural evolution poses significant challenges to ensuring reliability, repeatability, and predictive control of AM outcomes. Understanding these interdependencies through the process–structure–property–performance (PSPP) framework is essential for advancing the science and application of composite AM. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of PSPP relationships in three major polymer AM techniques: fused filament fabrication (FFF), selective laser sintering (SLS), and stereolithography (SLA). For each process, the material processability requirements, principal processing parameters, governing physical phenomena, process-induced microstructural features, and resulting property and performance relationships are systematically discussed. Experimental investigations and physics-based computational approaches are reviewed across the individual process–structure and structure–property links, as well as efforts to integrate the complete PSPP chain through multiscale modeling. Emerging composite AM technologies, including continuous-fiber reinforcement, hybrid manufacturing, multi-material and functionally graded printing, multifunctional and self-sensing composites, foam-based AM, and advanced vat-photopolymerization methods, are also considered. In addition, data-driven approaches for process optimization, microstructure and property prediction, surrogate modeling, and inverse design are examined. Finally, the principal limitations of current experimental, computational, and data-driven methods are critically assessed, and opportunities for advancing predictive and performance-oriented polymer composite AM are discussed.