Influence of the matrix material on the thermal properties of the short carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites manufactured by material extrusion

Abstract

In the past decades, additive manufacturing field has moved from prototyping to industrial applications. In this regard, the development of the new materials and their characterization is gaining importance. Most of the previous studies focused on the effect of fiber concentration and orientation on the material properties. However, the influence of the matrix material on composite thermal properties is not considered extensively. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the thermal properties of the short carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites by varying the matrix material. The techniques included the Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry Analysis (DSC), Thermo-mechanical Analysis (TMA) and Laser Flash Analysis (LFA). According to the results, matrix material has high impact on the thermal conductivity and coefficient of thermal expansion, whereas the variation of the glass transition temperature and specific heat capacity is not changing significantly compared to the neat polymer. The study can be used as a design guideline to increase the quality of the printed parts.