Enhancing Mechanical Properties of PLA and PP Composites through Ionic Zeolite with copper nanoparticles Reinforcement: Microstructural and Micromechanical Characterization

Abstract

Abstract The objective of this research is the micromechanical characterization of new materials for 3D printing, comprised of commercial polymer matrices of PLA and PP, reinforced with zeolite and copper nanoparticles. To characterize the microstructure of the composite materials, digital tools such as ImageJ software were used to determine the number and size of inclusions present in the samples through image analysis. Besides, the morphology of the reinforcing phase was determined through analysis with the SEM microscope. To determine the mechanical properties of the composite materials, nanoindentation was used to obtain the elastic modulus and Poissons ratio of constituents. With both, microstructure characterization and mechanical properties of the constituents, the composite materials obtained were simulated using Digimat FE software, and mentioned engineering constants were obtained. Finally, simulations results were compared with experimental tensile testing of studied composite materials, and it was determined that the simulation using Digimat delivered reliable mechanical results.