Characterization of 3D printed long fibre reinforced composites

Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) process is used in the present investigation to manufacture long fibre reinforced composite parts using the MarkOne® 3D-printer. In ALM, a continuous filament (including a tow of fibres) of composite material is injected by the printer, at high temperature, over a...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Justo Estebaranz, Jesús; Távara Mendoza, Luis Arístides; García Guzmán, Lorenzo Francisco; París Carballo, Federico
Format: Article
Status:Accepted version
Publication date:2018
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repository:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/154104
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/154104
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2017.11.052
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:ALM
FDM
Long fibre composites
Mechanical characterization
Description
Summary:Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) process is used in the present investigation to manufacture long fibre reinforced composite parts using the MarkOne® 3D-printer. In ALM, a continuous filament (including a tow of fibres) of composite material is injected by the printer, at high temperature, over a plain tool, forming the part while the material is cooled down. The used composite filament is formed by a PA (Nylon™) matrix and carbon or glass fibre reinforcements. Previous works have shown an improvement on the mechanical properties of a part, when some zones include a nylon based composite reinforcement using ALM. Nevertheless, the characterization of fully made nylon-based ALM composite material parts has not been reported. Thus, the aim of this investigation is the experimental characterization of composite nylon-based coupons. The plane strength and stiffness properties of the composites are obtained, both for tensile and compression load states. Results showed that the obtained mechanical properties for ALM composites are not yet comparable to those obtained by traditional methods (pre-pregs). This fact may be explained by the high porosity found in ALM coupons as well as a low fibre volume obtained. Nevertheless, the mechanical properties improvement in comparison to non-reinforced nylon parts is remarkable. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd