Effect of selective reinforcement on heat dissipation of 3D-printed poly lactic acid

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing (AM) represents a sustainable means of production, reducing the need for energy and resources and thus creating eco-friendly products. Homogeneous composites based on metal, polymer, and ceramic are currently used to meet the requirements of the end product. The current investigation attempts to identify functional needs and selective reinforcing with appropriate materials. The effectiveness of heat dissipation, one of the prime requirements in many applications, in metal-integrated polymer systems is assessed using simple representative samples. Representative parts are constructed using material extrusion processing with biodegradable Polylactic Acid (PLA) parts. Given its superior thermal conductivity for selective reinforcement, aluminium (Al) is chosen as the secondary material. The dimensional accuracy of the printed parts is fine-tuned using the different layer parameters to ensure the required interface clearances. A constant heat supply is provided thus to understand the influence of metal reinforcement in interaction with the polymer at the interface. The temperature is measured through the volume to record the heat conduction and dissipation. The metal-polymer sample with the interference fit is found to have the best heat dissipation compared to other alternative geometries. Either an insulating void or the absence of metal-polymer contact reduces the heat dissipation efficiency.