Additive technologies in the polymer components manufacturing for aerospace structures: design and optimization methods

Oleksandr Dzhurynskyi

Abstract


The subject matter of the article is additive manufacturing technologies used in the fabrication of polymer components for aerospace structures. The goal is to develop a comprehensive methodology focused on optimizing the design of polymer components manufactured by 3D printing, with a particular emphasis on material extrusion technologies. The tasks addressed include: reviewing state-of-the-art approaches to the design and optimization of polymer components for aerospace structures produced using additive manufacturing technologies; and examining polymer additive manufacturing methods, including FDM, SLS, SLA, and MJF, which enable the fabrication of components with complex geometries, reduced mass, and improved functional performance. The methodology is based on an integrated and iterative framework that combines parametric design, process-aware modeling, numerical simulation, and data-driven optimization techniques. The following results were obtained. The importance of design-stage optimization is emphasized due to the increasing requirements for the mechanical properties, service life, and cost efficiency of aerospace structures. Attention is focused on the challenges associated with polymer additive manufacturing, such as material anisotropy, process-induced defects, and the variability of mechanical properties. Approaches to addressing these challenges are discussed, including design for additive manufacturing, process parameter optimization, numerical simulation, and the application of artificial intelligence methods. The relevance of integrating digital modeling, experimental validation, and intelligent optimization techniques into a unified design methodology is highlighted. Recent studies in the aerospace sector are summarized, key challenges are identified, and promising directions for the further development of additive manufacturing technologies are outlined. Conclusions. The scientific novelty of the obtained results lies in the following: a methodology for optimizing the design of polymer aerospace components manufactured using additive technologies is proposed, with an emphasis on material extrusion–based methods. This methodology integrates parametric CAD modeling, process-aware design constraints, numerical stress analysis, and data-driven optimization techniques into a unified framework, in contrast to traditional design-for-additive-manufacturing (DfAM) approaches, which mainly address geometric feasibility.a

Keywords


additive manufacturing; polymer aerospace components; design optimization; process parameters; artificial intelligence; finite element analysis

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.32620/aktt.2026.1.03