Prediction of Bending Properties for 3D-Printed Carbon Fibre/Epoxy Composites with Several Processing Parameters Using ANN and Statistical Methods

Abstract

The effects of processing parameters on conventional molding techniques are well-known. However, the fabrication of a carbon fibre (CF)/epoxy composite via additive manufacturing (AM) is in the early development stages relative to fabrications based on resin infusion. Accordingly, we introduce predictions of the flexural strength, modulus, and strain for high-performance 3D printable CF/epoxy composites. The data prediction is analyzed using approaches based on an artificial neural network, analysis of variance, and a response surface methodology. The predicted results present high reliability and low error level, getting closer to experimental results. Different input data can be included in the system with the trained neural network, allowing for the prediction of different output parameters. The following factors that influence the AM composite processing were considered: vacuum pressure, printing speed, curing temperature, printing space, and thickness. We further demonstrate fast and streamlined fabrications of various composite materials with tailor-made properties, as the influence of each processing parameter on the desirable properties.