Fracture studies of 3D-printed continuous glass fiber reinforced composites

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing (AM), typically known as three-dimensional (3D) printing has paved the way for fabrication of individualized products. Since 3D-printed composites show a superior strength to weight ratio, their applications have significantly increased. In the current study, fracture behavior of 3D-printed fiber-reinforced composites and steel specimens was determined and compared. Particularly, the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) process was used to print Semi-Circular Bending (SCB) composite specimens. In this context, nylon and glass fibers were used as matrix and fiber reinforced materials, respectively. Moreover, steel SCB specimens were fabricated and examined for comparison. All specimens were subjected to three-point bending and their mechanical behavior was examined. In this study, Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique was utilized to measure strain on the surface of the specimen. In addition, a numerical simulation was performed to study fracture load of SCB steel specimens and verify experimental observations. The outcome of this study indicates that structural integrity of SCB specimens increases with fiber volume fraction. The documented results can be used for design, optimization, development, and simulation of 3D-printed continuous glass fiber-reinforced composites.