In this paper, the effects of build parameters on the mechanical properties of 3D-printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) produced using fused deposition modeling (FDM) are investigated. Full factorial experimental design incorporating a 2-level, 3-factor design with raster angle, layer thickness and interior fill style was carried out. Tensile tests were performed at four different strain rates to determine how the build parameters influence the mechanical properties of the 3-D printed ABS and to assess its strain rate sensitivity under quasi-static loading. It was found that the modulus of toughness of ABS material is most influenced by raster angle, while the interior fill style is the most dominant build parameter that dictates the specimen's modulus of resilience, yield strength and ultimate tensile strength. At all strain rates, it is further revealed that higher mean values of yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and modulus of resilience were obtained when the interior fill style is solid as opposed to high density. This can be attributed to the denser structure and higher effective cross-sectional area in solid interior fill style in comparison with high density interior fill style. However, the influence of the layer thickness on the investigated mechanical properties was found to be inconsistent. It was noted that specimens built with both 0.254 mm layer thickness and the cross [0˚/90˚] raster angle had superior mechanical properties when compared to those built with the 0.3302 mm layer thickness and cross [0˚/90˚] raster angle. This suggests that there is a key interaction between the layer thickness and the raster angle. At any FDM build parameter, it was found that all the mechanical properties investigated in this work exhibited modest sensitivity to strain rates. This study has provided a platform for an appropriate selection of build parameters combinations and strain rates for How to cite this paper: Hibbert, K.,

The thermal stability of funtionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has been studied experimentally by direct in-situ observations using a heating stage in a transmission electron microscope, from room temperature (RT) to about 1000 °C. It was found that the thermal stability of the functionalized CNTs was significantly reduced during the in-situ heating process. Their average diameter dramatically expanded from RT to about 500 °C, and then tended to be stable until about 1000 °C. The X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis suggested that the diameter expansion was associated with coalescence of the carbon structure instead of deposition with additional foreign elements during the heating process.

The single walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were effectively functionalized through grafting with chitosan (CTS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Prior to grafting reaction, the carboxylated SWNCTs (SWNCTs-COOH) were obtained by treating pristine CNTs with a mixture of 3:1 (v/v) H2SO4 and HNO3, and the successive treatment of SWNCTs-COOH with SOCl2 yielded the acylated CNTs (CNTs-COCl). The functionalized derivatives of CNTs were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Both CTS and PMMA grafted CNTs showed better dispersability in acetic acid and tetrahydrofuran, in addition to higher stability in solution.