ANTEC® Recap: Carbon Fiber Improves Fracture Toughness in Printing Trials
Posted: 05/14/2021
By Geoff Giordano
The use of carbon fiber to improve the fracture toughness of 3D-printed fused filament fabricated carbon fiber/ABS composites was effective in loadings up to 25 percent, according to research detailed in a May 10 ANTEC® presentation. Optimal results were achieved with 10 percent carbon fiber load.
Karun Kalia, a PhD candidate in the plastics engineering department at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, studied the effect of adding chopped discontinuous carbon fiber (CF) to ABS. A CF/ABS part was shown to possess higher tensile strength and modulus and lower residual warpage than a neat ABS part, he said. However, carbon fiber as a raw material is expensive and can wear out printing nozzles, he noted.
Kalia extruded CF/ABS filament comprising ABS Terluran GP-35 and Zoltek CF PX35 and printed specimens on a Felix Pro-2 unit. Fracture testing was conducted on an Instron 5966 machine at 10 mm per minute according to the ASTM D5045 standard.
Raster lines disappeared in trials of CF/ABS composites printed by fused filament fabrication with 15 percent carbon fiber loading. Courtesy of Karun Kalia/University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Testing carbon fiber loadings of zero, 10, 15, 20 and 25 percent, Kalia said that “there are two competing mechanisms … a decrease in the inter-bead voids and an increase in the intra-bead voids. However, intra-bead voids will be more detrimental because [this] can create more stress concentration points, and therefore provide lower fracture toughness.” At optimal print settings, a reduction in inter-bead void dominated, and therefore provided relatively higher fracture toughness.
Comparing his work to studies published by others, Kalia noted that lines that appeared between rasters in his sample prints at zero percent CF loading disappeared at 15 percent, whereas those lines remained under the same conditions in a previous evaluation. He suggested that his use of low-viscosity ABS resin and optimization of the fused filament fabricated process could be the reason.
“With proper choice of ABS grade, and optimized process parameters, carbon fiber/ABS composites can be made up to 25 weight percent of carbon fiber loading without any drop in the fracture toughness,” Kalia concluded. His ongoing research will include quantitative analysis of inter- and intra-bead voids and the effect of fused filament fabricated process parameters and print configurations on fracture toughness.
Kalia’s presentation “Effect of Carbon Fiber on the Fracture Toughness of Fused Filament Fabricated CF/ABS Composites” will be available on demand to ANTEC® attendees and those who register for access after the conference.
Kim McLoughlin Senior Research Engineer, Global Materials Science Braskem
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Kim drives technology programs at Braskem to develop advanced polyolefins with improved recyclability and sustainability. As Principal Investigator on a REMADE-funded collaboration, Kim leads a diverse industry-academic team that is developing a process to recycle elastomers as secondary feedstock. Kim has a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Cornell. She is an inventor on more than 25 patents and applications for novel polyolefin technologies. Kim is on the Board of Directors of SPE’s Thermoplastic Materials & Foams Division, where she has served as Education Chair and Councilor.
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Gamini has a BS and PhD from Purdue University in Materials Engineering and Sustainability. He joined Penn State as a Post Doctorate Scholar in 2020 prior to his professorship appointment. He works closely with PA plastics manufacturers to implement sustainability programs in their plants.
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Tom Giovannetti holds a Degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Tulsa and for the last 26 years has worked for Chevron Phillips Chemical Company. Tom started his plastics career by designing various injection molded products for the chemical industry including explosion proof plugs and receptacles, panel boards and detonation arrestors for 24 inch pipelines. Tom also holds a patent for design of a polyphenylene sulfide sleeve in a nylon coolant cross-over of an air intake manifold and is a Certified Plastic Technologist through the Society of Plastic Engineers. Tom serves on the Oklahoma Section Board as Councilor, is also the past president of the local Oklahoma SPE Section, and as well serves on the SPE Injection Molding Division board.
Joseph Lawrence, Ph.D. Senior Director and Research Professor University of Toledo
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Dr. Joseph Lawrence is a Research Professor and Senior Director of the Polymer Institute and the Center for Materials and Sensor Characterization at the University of Toledo. He is a Chemical Engineer by training and after working in the process industry, he has been engaged in polymers and composites research for 18+ years. In the Polymer Institute he leads research on renewably sourced polymers, plastics recycling, and additive manufacturing. He is also the lead investigator of the Polyesters and Barrier Materials Research Consortium funded by industry. Dr. Lawrence has advised 20 graduate students, mentored 8 staff scientists and several undergraduate students. He is a peer reviewer in several journals, has authored 30+ peer-reviewed publications and serves on the board of the Injection Molding Division of SPE.
Matt Hammernik Northeast Account Manager Hasco America
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Matt Hammernik serves as Hasco America’s Northeast Area Account Manager covering the states Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. He started with Hasco America at the beginning of March 2022. Matt started in the Injection Mold Industry roughly 10 years ago as an estimator quoting injection mold base steel, components and machining. He advanced into outside sales and has been serving molders, mold builders and mold makers for about 7 years.
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