Tensile performance of additively manufactured short carbon fibre-PLA composites: neural networking and GA for prediction and optimisation

Abstract

Despite the vast applications of fibre-reinforced polymer composites in multiple domains, conventional fabrication is laden with many difficulties, thus bringing focus on Additive manufacturing technologies. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of infill percentage, layer thickness and carbon fibre layer position on the mechanical tensile performance of Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) printed short Carbon Fibre-reinforced Polylactic Acid composites. Experimentation is based on full factorial design, with elastic modulus and maximum tensile stress as the response variables. Two distinct models for output are developed using an multivariate regression analysis and Generalised Regression Neural Network and are further validated through three set of randomised experiments. Genetic Algorithm is used to optimise the outputs, the results of which agree well with experiments. Changes in the carbon fibre layer position in the fabricated composites are found to have a visible and significant effect on the mechanical performance of the composites.

FDM-Based 3D Printing of Polymer and Associated Composite: A Review on Mechanical Properties, Defects and Treatments

“…The attraction towards the natural fibres such as flax, jute, basalt, bamboo and hemp are also increasing due to their eco friendliness and sustainability [ 137 , 138 , 139 , 140 , 141 , 142 ]. Most of the experiments have been performed with carbon fibre (CF) due to its excellent mechanical properties, lower density, corrosion, wear and moisture resistance, good thermal conductivity and electrical properties, low thermal expansion and piezoresistive behaviour, which is a special feature inherited from CF [ 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 ]. Hence, composites printed using CF as the reinforcement with matrix materials such as PEEK, PC, PE and PA are widely used in developing industrial applications, especially in the aerospace and automotive industries [ 149 ].…”

Fused deposition modeling based polymeric materials and their performance: A review

“…The results of the investigation found a 39% higher tensile strength and a modulus on the longitudinal direction of the printed composite than the composite printed in the transverse direction. The effects of layer thickness, infill percentage, and layer position on the tensile strength of PLA/carbon fiber composite were investigated by Omer et al [ 95 ] Composites were printed with a carbon fiber content of 20 wt% having a length of 15–30 μm at a layer thickness of 100, 200, and 300 μm; infill percentage of 25%, 50% and 100%; and a layering position of equidistant, bordered, and border + center. Analysis of the results found the maximum influence of the infill percentage on the tensile strength and modulus of the composites followed by the thickness of the layer.…”

Open Hole Tension of 3D Printed Aligned Discontinuous Composites

“…To compare the performance of the DcAFF (HiPerDiF-PLA) 3D printed part with other available 3D printing materials from literature, the tensile stiffness and strength of the DcAFF printed in a single layer were plotted against other PLA [ 5 , 7 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ], PLA-short carbon fibre (PLA-S.CF) [ 6 , 27 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ], PLA-continuous carbon fibre (PLA-C.CF) [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ], and Markforged continuous carbon fibre (nylon-C.CF) [ 6 , 14 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]. Both plots, Figure 7 , show that the properties of the DcAFF are superior to short-PLA composite 3D printed parts and at a comparable level with the PLA-continuous carbon fibres.…”

“… Comparison of ( a ) tensile stiffness; ( b ) tensile strength between the DcAFF (HiPerDiF-PLA) printed as a single layer 3D printed part, 20 tested specimens, and other composite 3D printings from publications: PLA [ 5 , 7 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ], PLA-short carbon fibre (PLA-S.CF) [ 6 , 27 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ], PLA-continuous carbon fibre (PLA-C.CF) [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ], and Markforged continuous carbon fibre (nylon-C.CF) [ 6 , 14 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]. …”