Progress 06/01/23 to 05/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:First, the ability to produce food that will meet an individual's energy and nutrient needs as well as flavor and texture preferences will help promote a healthier lifestyle. Tailored nutrition has the potential to increase healthy eating across all sectors of the population and to mitigate malnutrition in certain populations. Second, by making the 3D printing technology more accessible, consumers will be able to experiment with different food forms at home, fostering creativity in the younger generations and changing their relationships with pulse-based products. Third, 3D food printers can function as standalone food production systems that could be used in disaster relief situations and austere environments. Lastly, the 3D food printing technology developed in this project can potentially be adapted for using a wide variety of sustainable feedstock materials. Changes/Problems:Thiamine with a higher processing stability was used as a model micronutrient instead of Vitamin C. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The graduate students involved in this project have been trained on rheology, 3D printing, food science through: (i) working with the principal investigator, (ii) collaborating with food scientists from US Army Combat Feeding Directorate, and (iii) presenting the research findings at conferences. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated to communities of interest through journal publications, invited talks, and conference presentations, including the annual USDA NIFA grantee meeting (see "Products"). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Complete the microbial analysis for the 3D printed pea snacks (led by sub-contractor US Army DEVCOM SC) Submit a final paper on using 3D printing for personalized nutrition
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The project team demonstrated, for the very first time, 3D printing of pea-based snacks with tunable texture using the binder jetting (BJT) method, pea flour as the print powder, and an aqueous binder solution. The binding mechanism was studied by performing both Hele-Shaw cell experiments and confocal microscopy on the printed samples. As the pea flour was exposed to an aqueous binder, the starch granules swelled. These granules remained swollen but were further joined by a network of protein-rich bridges as the sample dried. Inclusion of sugar and post-printing baking tended to strengthen the as-printed samples, and the resultant mechanical properties were on par with commercial snacks that are not 3D printed. By controlling the amount of aqueous binder dispensed from the inkjet print heads, more than one order of magnitude differences in compressive strength and modulus were achieved, demonstrating the exciting potential of using 3D printing for texture modulation of plant-based snacks. These results have recently been published [Chadwick et al., J. Food Eng., 378, 112112 (2024)]. In terms of personalized nutrition, the project team has developed two new methods of including thiamine (Vitamin B1) as a model micronutrient at three predetermined levels during 3DP of pea-based snacks. The vitamin amount in the as-printed snacks was ~90% within the targets. A manuscript is currently under preparation based on these results.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
E. Chadwick, A. H. Barrett, M. Okamoto, Y. Suleiman, G. P. S. R. Bertola, S. Shahbazmohamadi, A. Shetty, Y. Li, A. W. K. Ma. Binder-jet 3D printing of pea-based snacks with modulated texture. Journal of Food Engineering, 378, 112112 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2024.112112
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
A. W. K. Ma. 3D Printing Customized Food and Drug Products with Binder Jetting. Anton Paar Webinar. Invited presentation. 14 May 2024.
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Progress 06/01/22 to 05/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Food scientists and companies (Ingredion, IFF). Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The graduate students and postdoc involved in this project have been trained on rheology, 3D printing, food science, and powder flow simulations through: (i) working with the principal investigator, (ii) collaborating with food scientists from US Army Combat Feeding Directorate, and (iii) presenting the research findings at conferences. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated to comunities of interest through invited talks and presentations at the annual USDA NIFA grantee meeting at US Davis and conferences (see "Products"). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Demonstrate the feasibility of 3D printing for personalized nutrition using Vitamin C as a model micronutrient Complete the microbial analysis and sensory panel (led by sub-contractor US Army DEVCOM SC) Submit two manuscripts in preparation
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Since the last reporting period, progress has been made on several fronts, primarily on demonstrating the technical feasibility of 3D printing pulse-based food products with the binder jetting (BJT) method and understanding the underlying binding mechanisms. Pea flour has been successfully used as a feedstock for BJT to produce pulse-based food samples. The mechanical properties of the printed samples may be further modulated by controlling the level of binder saturation (i.e., liquid binder to solid powder ratio) during 3DP. The effects of sugar and baking were studied. The inclusion of sugar as a flavoring agent increased the overall compressive strength and modulus of the 3D printed samples. Baking reduced the moisture content and moderately increased the mechanical strength of the 3D printed samples. It is possible to modulate the mechanical properties of 3DP samples through the liquid binder formulation. Using caster sugar as a model powder, an aqueous binder containing different concentrations of glycerol was printed to selectivity join the sugar particles together. Two orders of magnitude difference in compressive strength and one order of magnitude difference in elastic modulus were achieved by adjusting the glycerol concentration in the binder. Such high degree of tunability was attributed to the fundamental difference in the binding mechanism and more specifically the type of bridging (solid versus liquid) between the bound sugar particles. The compressive strength of the 3D printed samples varied between those of a filled hard candy and a marshmallow, although the elastic modulus was at least one order of magnitude higher. The powder spreading process during the BJT process was simulated using the discrete-element method (DEM). Experimental validation of the model is currently undertaken, utilizing a custom-built in-situ height mapping tool. A non-provisional patent application has been filed and published based on the machine learning task of this project. The patent describes the use of active machine learning with model selection to control a printing system to predict jettability diagrams efficiently, accurately, and autonomously for different print head and ink combinations. Based on preliminary study of two different types of pulse powders, we hypothesize any thermal treatment applied to the pea feedstock may inadvertently modify the starch that is present, leading to a higher degree of swelling of the print powder upon exposure to the aqueous binder. Such swelling further results in warpage of the as-printed layer and consequently catastrophic print failure. The project team will further examine this hypothesis by performing a comparative 3DP study on different protein isolates and native and modified starch powders.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
E. Chadwick, A. W. K. Ma. 3D Printing Food with Tunable Texture and Personalized Nutrition. 2022 Conference of Food Engineering. Invited Talk. 18 21 Sept 2022, Raleigh, NC.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
9. E. Chadwick, M. Tan, M. Pardakhti, Q. Yang, A. W. K. Ma. Prediction of Jetting Behavior for 3D Food and Pharmaceutical Printing 93rd SoR annual meeting. Oral presentation. 9 13 October 2022, Chicago, IL.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Maryam Pardakhti, Shing-Yun Chang, Qian Yang, and Anson W.K. Ma.Efficient Creation of Jettability Diagrams Using Active Machine Learning.3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing. http://doi.org/10.1089/3dp.2023.0023
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
E. Chadwick, A. H. Barrett, W. Hobson-Rhoades, M. Okamoto, Y. Suleiman, L. E. Oleksyk, H. Xu, S. Shahbazmohamadi, A. Shetty, R. Baker, A. W. K. Ma. 3D printing confectionaries with tunable mechanical properties. Journal of Food Engineering, 361, 111736 (2024).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
E. Chadwick, M. Tan, E. Grethel, A. Chandy, M. Pardakti, S.-Y. Chang, Q. Yang, A. W. K. Ma. Understanding Experimental Jettability Diagrams Autonomously Constructed by Machine Learning. International Congress on Rheology (ICR 2023), July 29 August 4, 2023, Athens, Greece. Oral presentation.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
A. W. K. Ma. 3D Printing Novel Pea-based Food Products. Ingredion, June 29, 2023. Virtual. Invited Talk.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
E. Chadwick, A. H. Barrett, M. Tan, M. Okamoto, Q. Yang. Advancing the Science of 3D Printing Technologies for Novel Pulse-based Food Products (2019-06721), USDA NIFA, June 5-7, 2023. Davis CA. Oral and Poster Presentations.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
A. W. K. Ma. 3D Printing: From Electronics to Edible Products. SPE ANTEC, March 23-27, 2023. Denver, CO. Invited Talk.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
E. Chadwick, C. Maiorana, M. Pardakhti, S.-Y. Chang, M. Tan, P. Hoveida, G. Zheng, Y. Niu, Q. Yang, A. W. K. Ma. "Autonomous 3D Printing for Novel Food and Pharmaceutical Applications." 2022 AIChE annual meeting. 13 18 November 2022, Phoenix, AZ. Oral presentation.
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Progress 06/01/21 to 05/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience: Food scientists from Japan and USDA Food manufacturers Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The graduate student involved in this project has been trained on rheology, 3D printing, food science, and powder flow simulations through: (i) working with the principal investigator, (ii) collaborating with food scientists from US Army Combat Feeding Directorate, (iii) attending workshops on powder flow simulations (provided by RockyDEM), and (iv) presenting his research findings at conferences. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Research findings were presented to US Army and industry observers during progress review meetings. Samples printed by UConn team were tested and analyzed by food scientists at US Army. The graduate student presented the findings at the TechConnect 2021 and IEEE meetings. The Project Director presented the key findings at several invited talks and conferences (See "Products" for a detailed list). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For the next reporting period, we will focus on: Completing the patent application conversion from provisional to non-provisional. Submitting two journal publications on experimental work - one on tunable texture via digital designs and another one on binder jet printing of pea protein products. Investigating the amount of nutrients that can achieved by printing (Task B3). Studying the reuse of reclaimed powders (Task B4).
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
A1. Characterized the particle size distribution and powder flowability of: (i) Bob's Red Mill, (ii) Pulse 1101, and (iii) Pulse 1101 with 20% added sugar as a flavoring agent. A1. Characterized the fluid properties (density, surface tension, and viscosity) of liquid binders containing Kollidon and different levels of glycerol. B1. Created jettability diagrams of various liquid binders containing Kollidon/ glycerol. B2: Successfully printed cubic test structures and scaled up to energy bar size. B2. Tested the 3D printed food structures and compared with typical food products. C1. Modeled the ink jetting process both as a single Helmholtz resonator and using COMSOL. Compared the simulation results with experimental jettability diagrams. C2. Developed an active machine learning algorithim to efficiently create jettabilty diagrams, leading to a patent application. C2. Developed a novel in-situ metrology tool for assessing the roughness of a spread powder layer during the 3D printing process. The roughenss data are then fed to a Bayesian Optimizier (machine learning code) for automonous process optimization. C3. Generated 10,000 jettability diagrams to be used to train a generative adversarial network (GAN).
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Maryam Pardakhti, Nila Mandal, Anson W. K. Ma, Qian Yang. Practical Active Learning with Model Selection for Small Data. Proceedings of the 2021 20th IEEE International Conference on Machine Learning and Applications (ICMLA). arXiv:2112.11572.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Anson W. K. Ma. Binder Jet 3D Printing of Food and Pharmaceutical Products. Symposium on 3D Printed Personal Food for Future & International Seminar on 3D Food Printing Technology. Japanese Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Invited oral presentation, September 10, 2021. Virtual.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Anson W. K. Ma. Additive Manufacturing of Functional Materials: From Electronics to Edible Products. Invited MaterialAlZ Seminar by University of Arizona and Arizona State University. April 22, 2022. Virtual.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Ethan Chadwick, Shing-Yun Chang, Maryam Pardakhti, Mingyang Tan, Yushuo Niu, Qian Yang, Seung Yeon Kang, Bodhisattva Chaudhuri, Anson W. K. Ma. Inkjet-based 3D Printing of Functional Materials. TechConnect 2021, Invited talk, October 18- 20, 2021, Washington DC.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Anson W. K. Ma. 3D Printing Food and Pharmaceutical Tablets for Personalized Nutrition and Precision Medicine Applications. Invited talk. Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut, November 5, 2021.
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Progress 06/01/20 to 05/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience: US Army Combat Feeding Directorate 3D printer manufacturers (Natural Machines and Kwambio) NSF SHAP3D center members Changes/Problems:A2. In molding tests, the preparation of a spreadable paste required the addition of copious amount of water, which inevitably led to considerable shrinkage and cracks during subsequent drying. Interestingly, binder jet printing does not suffer from this problem. Samples with arbitrary shapes and high powder loadings have been successfully produced after mitigating the warpage issue by adding glycerol (humectant) in the binder. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The graduate student involved in this project has been trained on rheology, 3D printing, food science, and powder flow simulations through: (i) working with the principal investigator, (ii) collaborating with food scientists from US Army Combat Feeding Directorate, (iii) attending webinars and workshops on powder flow simulations (provided by RockyDEM), and (iv) presenting his research findings to US Army, industry observers, and advisory board members of SHAP3D from government labs and industry. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Research findings were presented to US Army and industry observers during progress review meetings. Samples printed by UConn team were tested and analyzed by food scientists at US Army. The graduate student presented the findings at two NSF SHAP3D center meetings attended by more than 60 participants from three universities (UConn, UMass Lowell, Georgia Tech), industry, and government agencies. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? B2. Finalize the base powder and binder formulations and study the effect of different flavoring agents (e.g., sugar and cocoa powder) and nutrients on the mechanical properties B3. Use Vitamin C as a model nutrient to verify the accuracy of dose control through inkjet printing C1. Complete the model development for powder spreading. Finalize model parameters and fully define the parameter space. D1. Pass final blends/printed structures to US Army for nutrient content analysis.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Aim A: Characterization of powders and binders to establish shelf-life and printability: A1.Flowability of fourdifferent pulse powders was tested and ranked visually using the HuskyJet 3D printer. Ingredion Pulse 1101 pea flour showed the best flowability and was used in subsequent printing experiments. In terms of binders, the rheology and surface tension of aqueous solutions containing different concentrations of vinylpyrrolidone-vinyl acetate copolymer (PVP/VA; Kollidon V64) and glycerol were tested. Three different aqueous binders were selected for the 3D printing experiments, namely, 5% PVP/VA, 5% PVP/VA with 12% glycerol, and 60% glycerol. Aim B: 3D Printing using a commercially available and custom-built 3D printer: B1. Using the drop watcher system described in the proposal, the jetting behavior of three of the aqueous binders (selected in Task A1) was mapped out as a function of jetting voltage and pulse width. B2. It was observed that the higher the protein content, the higher the propensity for warpage of an as-printed layer, leading to print failure. However, the team discovered that the inclusion of glycerol in the binder effectively suppressed the warpage. Sixdifferent sets of samples were successfully prepared from various binder combinations and passed to US Army Combat Feeding Directorate for mechanical testing. Of the samples tested thus far, a failure stress as high as 651 kPa was recorded for the samples printed using Ingredion Pulse 1101 as the powder and 60% glycerol and 5%PVP/VA with 12% glycerol as the binders. These samples were mechanically stable for further inclusion of flavoring agent(s) and nutrient(s) in the next phase of the project. B3. Preliminary studies confirmed the amount of liquid ink can be finely controlled by turning on and off individual rows of the matrix-array inkjet print head. If the nutrient is included in the ink, this feature will further allow the control of nutrient amount within each food product for personalized nutrition. Aim C: Process optimization through physics-based modeling and machine learning: C1. The team has evaluated different software packages and selected RockyDEM for simulating the powder flow during binder jet 3D printing. C2. The proposed active machine learning algorithm has been developed and beta-tested using multiple binders. The algorithm significantly reduced the number of experiments required to generate the jettability diagrams. The model achieved an accuracy of more than 90% in predicting the jetting behavior while using only 20% of experimental data.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
E. Chadwick, B. Jin, S.-Y. Chang, M. Okamoto, R. Baker, A. W. K. Ma. Pilot-Scale Binder Jetting for Printing Food, SHAP3D Board Meeting Fall 2020, Poster Session, virtual.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
E. Chadwick, B. Jin, S.-Y. Chang, M. Okamoto, R. Baker, A. W. K. Ma. Pilot-Scale Binder Jetting for Printing Food, SHAP3D Board Meeting Spring 2021, Poster Session, virtual.
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