Dynamic mechanical analysis of additively manufactured cenosphere-filled PETG syntactic foam composite

Abstract

Syntactic foam composite (SFC) has the potential to substitute the conventional material used in damage-tolerance, thermal insulation, and weight-sensitive applications such as automotive parts, submarine structures, etc. Here, SFCs were developed by varying the weight fraction of cenosphere (CS) content from 0-40 wt. % in a polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) matrix. This investigation provides the terse behavior of the viscoelastic properties of 3D-printed PETG/CS foam composites. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results showed that the initial degradation temperature (Ti) and the temperature at 50% mass loss (T50) of the composite filament increased with the addition of CS particles, indicating improved thermal stability. The dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) results revealed that the storage modulus of SFC increased with increasing cenosphere content. The foam composite’s glass transition temperature (78.9 ± 0.35 °C) is lower by 4 °C than pure PETG. This underscores the potential of the developed syntactic foam composite to effectively utilize industrial waste fly ash through 3D printing routine, thereby promoting sustainable manufacturing practices.