|Digital Matter
|Clayphene
Chitosan as the future of water filtration system
|Team
Alaa Aldin Albardudi, Neel Prajapati, Mohammad Fouhad Hanifa
|Faculty
Areti Markopoulou, David Andres Leon, Raimund Krenmueller, Nikol Kirova
|Project year
2018-19
The project Clayphene aims to develop a composite material or system capable of replacing or significantly reducing the reliance on conventional home heating equipment. Specifically, it focuses on utilizing a graphene-infused clay composite to embed a heating system within architectural building components, such as walls. The primary objectives include determining the precise proportions of graphene and clay that serve as effective resistance and conductive elements.
The goal is to implement an embedded heating system within architectural components like walls using a composite material consisting of graphene and clay.
This initiative seeks to reimagine heating systems within architectural contexts, exploring the graphene-clay composite’s potential as an innovative alternative. Moreover, the project strives to identify an optimal fabrication method that maximizes the performance of the calyphene composite system, ensuring its efficient integration within architectural structures.
The primary objective behind creating prototypes was to explore the conductivity and resistivity of the composite material. The findings revealed that the material exhibits resistance when the graphene concentration ranges from 7 to 13%. However, concentrations exceeding 13% transform it into an electrical conductor.
Expanding beyond material tests involving casting, the clayphene project ventured into 3D printing, employing Additive Manufacturing (ABB Robotic Arm). This exploration focused on implementing digital design parameters in the fabrication process, aiming to maximize the surface heating area and experiment with various material mixes. The project aspired to develop a unified material system capable of achieving multifunctional heating systems. By controlling these parameters, the aim was to attain more precise outputs, propelling further advancements in construction methodologies. Further research in this domain holds the potential to push the limits of construction practices, ensuring heating requirements are met more effectively within architectural components.
The research explored graphene’s application in architecture, focusing on additive manufacturing methods and sustainability. It aimed to optimize prototypes using traditional materials like clay combined with varying graphene proportions to regulate heat as both resistance and conductor. The objective was to create prototypes for heat generation or control using additive manufacturing. The study achieved prototypes with gradient along the (x,y) axis, with potential for future control of gradient amounts in both directions to achieve specific heat factors.
