Optimizing the mechanical properties of TiO₂/PA12 nano‐composites fabricated by SLS 3D printing

Abstract

In this paper, the selective laser sintering process was used to fabricate the TiO2/PA12 nano‐composite parts by considering the parameters of laser power, scanning speed, and TiO2 content. The response surface methodology was used to improve the mechanical properties of TiO2/PA12 nano‐composite parts. The fracture surface characteristics of the specimens were examined using the scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The results indicated that the increase in laser power from 10 to 15 W improved the tensile strength, modulus, and impact strength of the nano‐composite parts because of the fine dispersion of TiO2 nano‐particles. An increase in the scanning speed from 2000 to 3000 mm/s resulted in the reduction of tensile strength and modulus due to lower heat input and consequently incomplete densification of polyamide‐12. In addition, the increase of TiO2 content up to 5 wt% can improve the tensile strength, modulus, and impact strength, but requires increasing the laser power. However, the mechanical properties of the nano‐composite parts were enhanced simultaneously at laser power of 12.4 W, scanning speed of 2000 mm/s and TiO2 content of 1.9 wt%. Moreover, the addition of TiO2 up to 5 wt% showed a slight influence on thermal stability and crystallinity of the sintered specimens.

Characterisation of the mechanical properties of polyamide 12 powder when using titanium dioxide as antimicrobial additive

“…One possible filler material to obtain an antimicrobial polymer is titanium dioxide [2–4]. Besides its antibacterial effect, titanium dioxide also has good photocatalytic properties and is often used as ultraviolet stabiliser or as a colour filler [2, 4–6].…”

“…For this purpose, tensile tests are performed on specimens produced by selective laser sintering from compounds with different content of titanium dioxide. Mechanical properties of titanium dioxide compounds have already been investigated in several studies [3][4][5][6]. Most of them are carried out with nanoparticles as filler material, whereas the present research is focused on the usage of the micro sized powder.…”

“…Due to its good technical feasibility this method is often used and is also the technique of choice in this study. [1,2] One possible filler material to obtain an antimicrobial polymer is titanium dioxide [2][3][4]. Besides its antibacterial effect, titanium dioxide also has good photocatalytic properties and is often used as ultraviolet stabiliser or as a colour filler [2,[4][5][6].…”

“…Combining these material properties with an additive manufacturing process can open up new potential and expand the product range. In polymer production, selective laser sintering is the most significant additive manufacturing process and is, due to the high accuracy of the sintered parts, currently at the transition stage from prototype manufacturing to series production [3,[7][8][9][10][11]. The selective laser sintering process is a powder based additive manufacturing technology, where the powder is successively applied in thin layers to the construction area and then melted locally using a carbon dioxide laser.…”

Comparison of mechanical properties of the Type 1 and Type 2 composite hydraulic cylinder designs: A numerical study

“…For that reason, many studies have been conducted to determine the optimum design parameters and thus improve the mechanical and dynamic properties of composite materials. [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] Reguera and Cortinez [20] performed an optimization study to maximize the critical buckling load and minimize the weight of thin-walled composite beams. Qiu and Zhu [21] used the genetic algorithm to optimize the fiber orientations of composite beams under compression loads.…”