Abstract
Polylactic acid and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) were mixed in different proportions and extruded through twin-screw and single screw extruders to obtain composite filaments to be used for additive manufacturing (3D printing) with fused deposition modeling method. The properties of the filaments were characterized using uniaxial tensile tests, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, rheology, polarized optical microscope, and scanning electron microscope. 3D printed samples from composite filaments were tested using dynamic mechanical analysis. It was found that the tensile strength and modulus of the filaments decrease while elongation at break increases with the increasing TPU content in the composite. The analysis also showed a partial miscibility of the polymer constituents in the solution of composite filaments. Finally, a flexible structure, plain weave fabric, was designed and 3D printed using the composite filaments developed which proved that the filaments are well suited for 3D printing.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1450-1471 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2023 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
The authors would like to thank Dr Russell Mailen, an assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, and Midhan Siwakoti for their assistance on Rheology tests, Dr Ramsis Farag, Tripp Hinkle and Yuyang Wang for their help during this project. SEM imaging were done at the AU Research Instrumentation Facility in Biological Sciences Department at Auburn University. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research is funded by Auburn University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, which is appreciated. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was supported by the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Auburn University.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Department of Aerospace Engineering | |
| Auburn University | |
| Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Michigan State University |
Keywords
- 3D printing
- Polylactic acid
- composite filament
- fabrics
- thermoplastic polyurethane
