Fiber Reinforced Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Research Articles

Performance evaluation of 3D-printed ABS and carbon fiber-reinforced ABS polymeric spur gears

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymer and carbon fiber reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (CF/ABS) spur gears were 3D-printed using fusion deposition modeling (FDM) with different fillet radii of 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 mm. The performance of the fabricated gears was studied with the effect of fillet radius on varying load and speed conditions. The thermal properties of the gears were also investigated. The results indicated that 3D-printed CF/ABS spur gear exhibited better performance than the pure ABS. The 3D-printed CF/ABS gear with fillet radius of 0.25 mm recorded the highest wear and thermal stresses. However, the optimum performance was exhibited by the gear sample with highest fillet radius of 0.75 mm. Repeated gear tooth loading during service caused an increase in gear temperature due to the hysteresis and friction. Using optical microscopy, the tooth structures of both 3D-printed ABS and CF/ABS spur gears were analyzed before and after loading conditions to establish their failure mechanism. Evidently, various applications of the FDM 3D-printed spur gears depend on their different performances under loads and operating speeds. The methods and findings of this work can be regarded as helpful for future related work related to cellulosic reinforcing particles in a polymer matrix.

Influence of process parameters on ageing and free vibration characteristics of fiber-reinforced polymer composites by fusion filament fabrication process

Abstract Fused filament fabrication is a promising additive manufacturing technology and an alternative to traditional processes for the fabrication of polymer and fiber-reinforced polymer composites. In this work, the effects of process parameters such as layer thickness, infill density, and infill pattern on the ageing and free vibration characteristics of three-dimensional printed composites were investigated. It was observed that the water absorption rate is higher in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) printed specimens compared to carbon fiber reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (CF/ABS) specimens due to the effect of carbon fiber which acts as a strong hydrophobic material. The free vibration characteristic of the printed composite specimen is found as per American Society for Testing Materials standards. From the results, it is found that the 5 % addition of carbon fiber, hexagonal pattern, and 0.30 mm layer thickness show an increase in the vibration behaviour of the composites compared to the specimen printed without reinforcement. Experimental modal analysis was carried out on a cantilever beam-like sample and revealed that the addition of fiber has enhanced natural frequencies and damping ratio.

Glass Fiber Reinforced Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Composite Gears by FDM 3D Printing

Abstract3D printing of gears via fused deposition modeling (FDM) has been recently introduced as a low‐cost efficient manufacturing method. Different materials have been 3D printed and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) with excellent mechanical properties has been found to be promising. However, 3D printed ABS gears possess a high level of abrasion rate. This paper introduces a new class of ABS‐based gears reinforced by different amounts of milled E‐glass fibers and 3D printed by FDM with acceptable thermo‐mechanical properties and performance. A set of thermo‐mechanical tests is carried out to provide an insight into the influence of adding glass fibers on the glass transition temperature (Tg), hardness and teeth bending strength, teeth failure force, weight lost, abrasion resistance, mechanical wear, and performance of composite gears. The mechanical behaviors of driving and driven gears are examined in high and room temperatures with or without lubrication. Microstructure and gear profile analysis of 3D printed layers, worn surfaces, and fracture locations are also conducted by SEM images and profile projector. The newly developed glass fiber reinforced ABS gears reveal a high level of thermo‐mechanical performance in terms of hardness, mechanical strength, bending force, abrasion and wear resistance compared to pure 3D printed ABS gears.

Effect of process variables on adhesion of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and carbon fiber reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene materials printed using additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing has the capacity to manufacture functional parts with complicated geometries, fused filament fabrication is a viable additive manufacturing method and an alternative to standard processes for the creation of polymer and fiber-reinforced polymer composites. The influence of process parameters such as layer thickness, infill density, and infill pattern on the interlaminar bonding performance of three-dimensional printed composites was examined in this study. Due to the existence of high porosity and inadequate layer to layer bond, interlaminar shear strength values increase as layer height increases from 0.15 mm to 0.2 mm and decrease by 0.3 mm. The specimens were also subjected to a wettability test to determine the printed material’s adhesive behavior. Scanning electron microscope was used to perform fractography analysis, and fractured specimens were seen. The test findings revealed that carbon fiber reinforced ABS specimens have good interlaminar shear strength and layer adhesive. When comparing carbon fiber reinforced ABS specimens to ABS specimens, the test results demonstrated that interlaminar shear strength and good adhesion between the layers are attained in carbon fiber reinforced ABS specimens.

3D printing of glass fiber reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and investigation of tensile, flexural, warpage and roughness properties

AbstractThree‐dimensional (3D) printing or additive manufacturing (AM) enables to fabricate, complex parts in low quantities without expensive molds or tools in short time. While several 3D printing methods are available, printing with the method of fused deposition modeling (FDM) is particularly widespread because of the simplicity and potential applicability. The applications of FDM to obtain strong components used in aerospace and automotive industries are widely being explored. This study investigates mechanical properties of 3D printed parts with composite filaments made by acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)/short glass fibers (SGFs). At first, composite filaments with varying GF contents 5, 10, and 15 wt% were manufactured. In addition, maleic anhydride grafted ABS (ABS‐g‐MA) as coupling agent, nozzle temperature and raster angle orientation were considered as other parameters. Results showed that with 15 wt% of GF, means of tensile and flexural strengths were increased 33% and 36%, respectively. Meanwhile, tensile and flexural moduli were improved 57% and 62%. Among the different raster angle, 0° had the best mechanical properties. Maximum ultimate tensile strength was obtained 61 MPa. Warpage and surface roughness were measured in this study. Generally, nozzle temperature and coupling agent did not have any significant effects on all the results in this study.

Investigation of tensile and flexural properties of kenaf fiber-reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene composites fabricated by fused deposition modeling

Employment of natural fiber for the filament of fused deposition modeling (FDM) can be found in numerous studies from different areas. However, the presence of fiber such as kenaf in polymer filament could cause mechanical properties degradation with regard to the fiber loading owing to low compatibility between natural fiber and polymer matrix. Therefore, this study aims to study the mechanical properties of three-dimensional (3D)-printed structures of composites specimens with varying volume percentages of kenaf fiber. From the tensile and flexural testings, the findings revealed decrements in the tensile strength and modulus of kenaf fiber-reinforced ABS (KRABS) composites from 0 to 5% contents of kenaf fiber which were 23.20 to 11.48 MPa and 328.17 to 184.48 MPa, respectively. The raising amount of kenaf fiber at 5 to 10% raised the tensile strength and modulus from 11.48 to 18.59 MPa and 184.48 to 275.58 MPa, respectively. Flexural strength and modulus of KRABS composites were decreased at to 5% from 40.56 to 26.48 MPa and 113.05 to 60 MPa, respectively. With further kenaf fiber addition from 5 to 10%, the flexural strength and modulus were increased from 26.48 to 32.64 MPa and 60 to 88.46 MPa, respectively. These results were supported by the finding from the morphological analysis, where the presence of porosity and fiber pull out implied the poor interfacial bonding between kenaf fiber and ABS matrix. This study has successfully demonstrated the tensile and flexural performances of different volume percentages of KRABS composites filament for FDM through experimental research.

Effect of raster angle on mechanical properties of 3D printed short carbon fiber reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene

The most common additive manufacturing technique fused filament fabrication (FFF) suffers from inter-bead porosity that reduces mechanical properties. Inter-bead pores follow the raster angle, which causes anisotropic mechanical properties. Yet, the effects of raster angle on the mechanical behavior of short-carbon-fiber-reinforced (SCFR) thermoplastics are unclear. In this study, we performed tensile, flexural, and fracture toughness tests on SCFR acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). Raster angles of 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, and 90° were investigated. Tensile strength and elastic modulus decreased by 22–35% for a change from 0° to 15°. Flexural strength and modulus were less sensitive to raster angle. Flexural strengths were at least 50% more than tensile strength for the same raster angle. Whereas flexural modulus is at least 15% less than elastic modulus. Fracture toughness showed a non-linear relationship with the raster angle. Maximum fracture toughness was observed at 0° and 60° rasters. Crack deflection was observed as the toughening mechanism.

Hybrid additive and subtractive manufacturing of multi-material objects

Purpose This study presents a method for fabricating multi-material objects using a hybrid additive and subtractive approach. By hybridizing the material composition in addition to the fabrication process, functional requirements can be met more effectively than through homogenous material parts produced using a single manufacturing process. Development of multi-material objects consisting of dissimilar materials that have been hampered by a lack of a structural interface compatible with in-envelope hybrid additive and subtractive manufacturing. Design/methodology/approach This research presents a novel method for producing multi-material components through in-envelope hybrid additive and subtractive manufacturing. This study attempts to address the absence of a metal-polymer interface by integrating polymer additive manufacturing into a five-axis mill. The ability of the polymer additive system to reproduce overhang geometries is assessed with different levels of cooling. The relationship between structural performance, cooling and material flow rate is evaluated for the deposited carbon fiber reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. Findings A mechanically interlocking root structure is developed to form an interface between a machined aluminum region and a polymer region of an object. The tensile strength of the metal-polymer object is measured and found to be on the same order of magnitude as the bulk three-dimensional printed polymer. Originality/value By targeting the material properties to the local functional requirements within a part and taking advantage of both additive and subtractive manufacturing processes, this study will enable broader design options and optimization of performance metrics.

A statistical homogenization approach for incorporating fiber aspect ratio distribution in large area polymer composite deposition additive manufacturing property predictions

Assessing the material stiffness of fiber reinforced polymer composites deposited in Large Area Additive Manufacturing (LAAM) is needed to define the process-structure-property mapping for the LAAM technology. While the screw-extrusion-based LAAM systems yield a distribution of fiber aspect ratio (i.e., length to diameter ratio for cylindrical inclusions) within deposited beads, most composite micromechanical models ignore the fiber geometry variation and instead assume a single value of fiber aspect ratio. This paper presents a statistics-based homogenization approach for including the fiber aspect ratio distribution in the prediction of the elastic properties of an extruded polymer composite bead. The fiber length distribution of a 13 wt% Carbon Fiber reinforced Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (CF-ABS) processed through a LAAM deposition system is measured using high resolution optical microscopy. The Weibull probability distribution function is employed to statistically describe the measured values. The fitted probability density function is then incorporated into a fiber orientation homogenization approach to compute the variability of the elastic properties of the extruded composite. Elastic properties predicted by our proposed method are shown to differ from those presented in prior studies that ignored fiber length variability. The fiber aspect ratio reduction from fiber length attrition during the LAAM single screw-extrusion is shown to decrease the predicted flow-direction effective elastic modulus by 7%. Elastic moduli computed using our measured fiber aspect ratio distribution and proposed homogenization approach compare well to reported data from previously associated experimental studies.

Effects of gamma irradiation on mechanical properties of 3D-printed carbon fiber–reinforced ABS

3D-printed samples of carbon fiber–reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (CF-ABS) are exposed to radiation doses of up to 15 kGy with a Cobalt-60 gamma irradiator. The effects of irradiation, the choice of material (CF-ABS or ABS), and the order of fabrication (before or after irradiation) are examined. CF-ABS has a smaller ultimate tensile strength and a larger elastic modulus than ABS alone regardless of the radiation dose or the order of printing. At zero dose, flexural moduli for CF-ABS are 66% larger than those in ABS. Several properties of CF-ABS show almost a 20% decrease after 1 kGy of irradiation when it is printed with pre-irradiated filament, which does not occur in ABS or when CF-ABS samples are printed prior to irradiation.

Compressive deformation analysis of large area pellet-fed material extrusion 3D printed parts in relation to in situ thermal imaging

In large area pellet extrusion additive manufacturing, the temperature of the substrate just before the deposition of a new subsequent layer affects the overall structure of the part. Warping and cracking occur if the substrate temperature is below a material-specific threshold, and deformation and deposition adhesion failure occur if the substrate temperature is above a different threshold. Currently, Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) machine users mitigate this problem by trial and error, which is costly and may result in decreased mechanical properties, monetary losses and time inefficiencies. Through thermal imaging, the range of temperatures present during the printing of a 20 wt. % carbon fiber reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS-20CF) single-bead vertical wall via the BAAM machine was measured. Compression tests were performed to understand the material behavior at those temperatures. Optical imaging was performed to identify a relationship between porosity in the printed bead and plateau regions in the compression curves at temperatures of 170 °C and below. From the thermal imaging and compressive testing, it was concluded that if the substrate temperature is above 200 °C, it will not be able to withstand the load exerted by the deposition of a new layer without experiencing deformation. This behavior was attributed to the experimentally obtained low compressive strength of ABS-20CF observed at temperatures above 200 °C.

Controlling substrate temperature with infrared heating to improve mechanical properties of large-scale printed parts

Additively manufactured parts made with polymer extrusion techniques can be 50–75 % weaker in the z-direction (across layers) than in the x- and y-directions. This has been attributed to poor mobility of polymer chains and a low degree of entanglement across a cold deposition interface. This is particularly a challenge when printing large-scale parts, such as with the Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) system, because layer times can exceed several minutes. The current work presents a method for controlling the temperature of the substrate material on the BAAM just prior to deposition using infrared heating lamps. Long layer times were also simulated by actively cooling the material following deposition of each layer. The effect of substrate temperature on the z-direction mechanical properties of 20 % carbon fiber reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) was measured for an initial temperature ranging from 50 °C to 150 °C and a preheated temperature ranging from 150 °C to 220 °C. Infrared preheating proved to be very effective when applied to substrates that had cooled considerably, almost doubling the tensile strength and increasing the fracture toughness by a factor of 7x.

Elasto-Plastic Finite Element Modeling of Short Carbon Fiber Reinforced 3D Printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Composites

This research extends the existing classical lamination theory based finite element (FE) models to predict elasto-plastic and bimodular behavior of 3D printed composites with orthotropic material properties. Short carbon fiber reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene was selected as the 3D printing material. Material characterization of a 3D printed unidirectional laminate was carried out using mechanical tests. A bimodular material model was implemented using explicit FE analysis to predict the tension and bending behavior of a 3D printed laminate. The results of the FE model predictions were experimentally validated. Hill’s yield function was effective at predicting the elasto-plastic stress–strain behavior of the laminate in tension. In bending, bimodular material behavior along with Hill’s yield function worked reasonably well in predicting the elasto-plastic bending of the laminate. The material model proposed can be used to predict the mechanical behavior of 3D printed parts with complex geometry under complex loading and boundary conditions.

Development and Mechanical Properties of Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene for In-Space Manufacturing Applications

A new basalt fiber reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) filament has been developed for fused filament fabrication (FFF, 3D printing) to be used in Mars habitat construction. Building habitats on Mars will be expensive, especially if all material must be shipped from earth. However, if some materials can be used from Mars, costs will dramatically decrease. Basalt is easily mined from the surface of Mars. This study details the production process of the material, experimental results from mechanical testing, and preliminary X-ray shielding characteristics. The addition of chopped 3 mm basalt fibers to standard FFF material, ABS, increased strength and stiffness of the composite material. By adding 25% (by weight) basalt fiber to ABS, tensile strength improved nearly 40% by increasing from 36.55 MPa to 50.58 MPa, while Modulus of Elasticity increased about 120% from 2.15 GPa to 4.79 GPa. Flexural strength increased by about 20% from 56.94 MPa to 68.51 MPa, while Flexural Modulus increased by about 70% from 1.81 GPa to 3.05 GPa. While compression results did not see much strength improvements, the addition of fibers also did not decrease compressive strength. This is important when considering that basalt fibers provide radiation shielding and the cost of adding basalt fibers to construction materials on Mars will be negligible compared to the cost of shipping other materials from earth. In preliminary digital radiography testing, it was shown that 77% of X-rays were shielded with 25% basalt fiber added (as compared to neat ABS). In small-scale 3D printing applications, the 25% fiber ratio seems to be the highest ratio that provides reliable FFF printing.

Flammability of self-extinguishing kenaf/ABS nanoclays composite for aircraft secondary structure

This study investigates the flammability properties of kenaf fiber reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) with nanoclays composites. Natural fiber is one of the potential materials to be used with thermoplastic as a composite due to its attractive properties such as lightweight and strong. In this paper, flammability properties of this material are evaluated through Underwriters Laboratory 94 Horizontal Burning (UL94 HB), which has been conducted for both controlled and uncontrolled conditions, smoke density and limiting oxygen index tests (LOI). These flammability tests are in compliance with the Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) requirement. The results from UL94 HB and smoke density tests show that the presence of nanoclays with effective composition of kenaf fiber reinforced ABS has enhanced the burning characteristics of the material by hindering propagation of flame spread over the surface of the material through char formation. Consequently, this decreases the burning rate and produces low amount of smoke during burning. On contrary, through LOI test, this material requires less oxygen to burn when exposed to fire, which hinders the enhancement of burning characteristics. This is due to burning mechanism exhibited by nanoclays that catalyzes barrier formation and flame propagation rate over the surface of the biocomposite material. Overall, these experimental results suggest that this biocomposite material is capable of self-extinguishing and possesses effective fire extinction. The observed novel synergism from the result obtained is promising to be implemented in secondary structures of aircraft with significant benefits such as cost-effective, lightweight and biodegradable self-extinguishing biocomposite.

Phosphate Derivative Flame Retardants on Properties of Pineapple Leaf Fiber/Abs Composites

Pineapple leaf fibers (PALF) are abundant to the agricultural products which are native to the tropical climate region. It also exhibit excellent tensile strength and tensile modulus. Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) copolymer possess several prominent properties such as strength, rigidity and toughness. Both ABS and PALF are at high risk to the fire hazard when used in daily life. The improvement of flame retardancy of composite materials has been the priority for the safety requirements of natural fiber composite products. This research is aimed to study the effect of two different phosphate compounded flame retardants i.e., bisphenol-A bis (diphenyl phosphate) (BDP) and 9, 10-Dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) on the flammability, mechanical and thermal properties of the composites of modified natural pineapple leaf fiber reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. 10% by weight of such PALF was compounded with ABS using diisononyl phthalate 1% w/w as plasticizer at the different flame retardant concentration (10 and 20 wt.% of ABS). The effects of flame-retardants showed that the PALF/ABS composite containing DOPO showed enhanced performance in terms of flame retardancy and even act as self-extinguisher. Higher content of flame retardants led to increase limiting oxygen index value. Moreover, DOPO added composites produced superior mechanical properties such as young's modulus and tensile strength. Furthermore, both thermal degradation temperature of PALF/ABS composites with DOPO and thermal degradation temperature of PALF/ABS composites with BDP showed relatively lower temperature than the ones of PALF/ABS composites.

Investigation of the Surface Morphology and Structural Characterization of Palm Fiber Reinforced Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (PF-ABS) Composites

With the aid of Injection Moulding Machine (IMM) Palm fiber reinforced Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) composites (PF-ABS) were prepared. Three sets of samples were prepared for three different wt% (5%, 10% and 20%) of fiber contents. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) experiments were performed to study the surface morphology, microstructure (if it crystalline or noncrystalline) and new bond formation after preparation of the composites. SEM pattern shows that after addition of palm fiber in PF-ABS composites the brittleness increased due to creation of voids in the composites except 10% fiber content in PF-ABS. From XRD pattern it is clear that the palm fiber, ABS and PF-ABS composites are amorphous in nature. Moreover FTIR spectrum shows that there is no new bond formed after addition of palm fiber in ABS polymeric matrix to create PF-ABS composites.

Study of Mechanical and Physical Properties of Palm Fiber Reinforced Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Composite

Palm fiber (PF) reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) composite matrix was prepared by employing Injection Moulding Machine (IMM). Palm fiber was collected from ten different trees of different age group from Comilla region in Bangladesh. Three sets of samples were prepared for three different wt% (5%, 10% and 20%) of fiber contents. The mechanical (tensile strength, flexural stress, micro hardness, Leeb’s rebound hardness) and physical (bulk density and water absorption) properties were measured. The observed result reveals that the tensile strength (TS) and flexural stress (FS) were decreased with increasing fiber contents in the PF-ABS composites except 10% fiber content.