Reinforcement‐material effects on the compression behavior of polymer composites

Abstract

AbstractAdditive manufacturing technique fused filament fabrication (FFF) has found widespread usage in a variety of sectors, because of its ability to produce parts with arbitrary geometries and intricate internal structures. This study focuses on the characterization of polylactic acid (PLA) and polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) composites under compressive force to learn more about how various nozzle diameter (ND) and infill pattern (IP) affect the fabricated specimens. The specimens are created with various combination of IPs (triangular, honeycomb, and rectilinear) and NDs (0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 mm) utilizing three polymer composites namely carbon fiber filled PLA (CF‐PLA), carbon fiber filled PETG (CF‐PETG), and multi walled carbon nano tubes filled PLA (MWCNTs‐PLA). According to the findings, the higher ND improves the compressive properties of the polymer composites. The IP also has significant impact on the compressive properties of the fabricated specimens. The overall minimum compressive strength of 14.612 MPa at ND 0.2 mm and honeycomb IP for CF‐PLA specimen. The overall maximum compressive strength achieved is 45.269 MPa at ND 0.6 mm and rectilinear IP for MWCNTs‐PLA specimen. Therefore, the compressive strength is enhanced by 209.81% by modifying the process parameters and filament material. Based on statistical analysis using Taguchi method, the ND contributes highest, 79.61% to compressive strength of MWCNTs‐PLA specimens, but for CF‐PLA and CF‐PETG specimens, IP contributes highest, 52.65% and 57.91%, respectively. The aforementioned findings will be extremely useful to scientists attempting to achieve sustainability through the use of polymer composites and FFF process.