Could 4D Printing Improve Reliability?

There is an emerging technology called 4D printing that could potentially be used to improve the reliability of oil and natural gas pipelines.  This, in turn, could be a boon to power plants that rely on natural gas and oil.  But how exactly does it work?

Primer on 4D Printing

We’re all familiar with 2D printing (ink on paper) as well as 3D printing (three dimensional objects), but 4D printing is a different animal entirely.  In a nutshell, 4D printing is capable of changing, structurally, based on environmental stimuli.  It could also have self-healing properties.  It was developed at MIT and, although not quite ready for primetime, could be incredibly important for a wide variety of industries including energy. 

The backbone of the technology is a substance called Nitinol, which consists of a nickel and titanium alloy that can be deformed and then return to a preconfigured shape.  When this material is combined with 3D printing, you can create three dimensional objects that can shapeshift!

In other words, it’s 3D printing with “smart materials” that can change based on things like sunlight, temperature, and pressure.  By way of example, it could allow pipes to shapeshift when necessary to fix a leak, change diameter if pressure is too high or too low, or automatically open and close when needed. 

I am fascinated by the potential of this technology.  Beyond pipelines, I can envision plenty of applications at power plants, water infrastructure, and even transmission and distribution infrastructure. 

Now granted, I can’t see 4D printing being prevalent until years or even decades into the future, but the potential is intriguing.  If and when this becomes viable enough to be mass-produced, it would make our jobs as emergency preparedness pros a lot easier.  Imagine how much easier restoration would be if the source of the outage healed itself! 

I know, I know, but hey, one can dream!