Additively Manufactured Multifunctional Composite Parts with the Help of Coextrusion Continuous Carbon Fiber: Study of Feasibility to Print Self-Sensing without Doped Raw Material

Abstract

Nowadays, the additive manufacturing of multifunctional materials is booming. The fused deposition modeling (FDM) process is widely used thanks to the ease with which multimaterial parts can be printed. The main limitation of this process is the mechanical properties of the parts obtained. New continuous-fiber FDM printers significantly improve mechanical properties. Another limitation is the repeatability of the process. This paper proposes to explore the feasibility of printing parts in continuous carbon fiber and using this fiber as an indicator thanks to the electrical properties of the carbon fiber. The placement of the fiber in the part is based on the paths of a strain gauge. The results show that the resistivity evolves linearly during the elastic period. The gauge factor (GF) increases when the number of passes in the manufacturing plane is low, but repeatability is impacted. However, no correlation is possible during the plastic deformation of the sample. For an equivalent length of carbon fiber, it is preferable to have a strategy of superimposing layers of carbon fiber rather than a single-plane strategy. The mechanical properties remain equivalent but the variation in the electrical signal is greater when the layers are superimposed.