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Additive Manufacturing of Polymer-Fiber Composites

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Composites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2024 | Viewed by 17009

Special Issue Editors


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1. School of Chemical and Energy, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
2. Centre for Advanced Composite Materials, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Interests: polymer engineering; material engineering; natural fibres; nanocellulose; biopolymer; biodegradable polymer; biocomposites and nanocomposites
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Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Alkharj 16273, Saudi Arabia
Interests: renewable energies; energy conversion; biofuels; solar energy; gasification; hydrogen production; simulation and mathematical modeling; fluidized bed; internal combustion engines

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Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Technology, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia
Interests: concurrent engineering; material selection; natural fiber composites; fused deposition modeling; conceptual design

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Engineering Materials and Structures (eMAST) iKohza, Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT), UTM Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, 54100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Interests: additive manufacturing; hybrid manufacturing; advanced 3D printing; 4D and 5D printing; additive manufacturing materials development; severe plastic deformation; nanostructured materials; process-microstructure-property relationships
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1. Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
2. Centre for Automotive Research, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
Interests: additive manufacturing; lattice structures; topology optimisation; finite-element analysis; design for additive manufacturing (DfAM)

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School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Supmeca-Paris, 3 rue Fernand Hainaut, 93400 Saint Ouen, France
Interests: advanced manufacturing processes (sinter forging, thixoforming); damage mechanisms of materials (metallic, intermetallic, rubber and epoxy-based composites); design of new composites and damage characterization; design and manufacturing of recycled constituent composites
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The technology of additive manufacturing (AM) process has been significantly raised attention of researchers and industrial players from various area. Flexibility of the technology has increased the potential of research and exploration from the materials supply until the end-of-life. Regarding with the environmentally aspect, the reduction of the need for virgin raw materials in additive manufacturing will enhance the positive impact on environment of the process. Therefore, selection of the right eco-friendly sources of energy, recyclability and biodegradability and maximizing the product’s end-of-life value is important in AM. Fibre reinforced polymer composites have been employed in the early development of AM technology and they have open more potential application in various type of product design. Moreover, the research and development of these materials are extensively progressing as the materials are various and have unique characteristics.

In this special issue, we aim to capture the cutting-edge of the state-of-the-art in research pertaining to advancing additive manufacturing of fiber reinforced polymeric materials. The topic themes include advanced fiber reinforced polymeric materials development, processing parameter optimization, characterization techniques, structure-property relationships, process modelling, etc., specifically for AM.

Dr. R. A. Ilyas
Dr. Ahmed El-Shafay
Dr. M.T. Mastura
Dr. Shahir Yusuf
Dr. Abdul Hadi Azman
Prof. Dr. Emin Bayraktar
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • additive manufacturing
  • composites
  • biocomposites
  • 5D printing
  • 4D printing
  • 3D printing
  • biopolymeric materials
  • synthetic polymeric
  • lattice structures
  • fused deposition modeling

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 2314 KiB  
Editorial
Additive Manufacturing of Polymer–Fiber Composites
by R. A. Ilyas, A. S. El-Shafay, M. T. Mastura, Shahir Mohd Yusuf, Emin Bayraktar and Abdul Hadi Azman
Materials 2022, 15(15), 5337; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15155337 - 3 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1644
Abstract
Additive Manufacturing of Polymer–Fiber Composites is a newly open Special Issue of Materials, which aims to publish original and review papers on new scientific and applied research, and make great contributions to the finding and understanding of the fabrication of fiber-reinforced polymer [...] Read more.
Additive Manufacturing of Polymer–Fiber Composites is a newly open Special Issue of Materials, which aims to publish original and review papers on new scientific and applied research, and make great contributions to the finding and understanding of the fabrication of fiber-reinforced polymer composites using current advanced additive manufacturing techniques [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Polymer-Fiber Composites)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

18 pages, 6017 KiB  
Article
Geometric Complexity Control in Topology Optimization of 3D-Printed Fiber Composites for Performance Enhancement
by Tao Wu, Peiqing Liu and Jikai Liu
Materials 2024, 17(9), 2005; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17092005 - 25 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1071
Abstract
This paper investigates the impact of varying the part geometric complexity and 3D printing process setup on the resulting structural load bearing capacity of fiber composites. Three levels of geometric complexity are developed through 2.5D topology optimization, 3D topology optimization, and 3D topology [...] Read more.
This paper investigates the impact of varying the part geometric complexity and 3D printing process setup on the resulting structural load bearing capacity of fiber composites. Three levels of geometric complexity are developed through 2.5D topology optimization, 3D topology optimization, and 3D topology optimization with directional material removal. The 3D topology optimization is performed with the SIMP method and accelerated by high-performance computing. The directional material removal is realized by incorporating the advection-diffusion partial differential equation-based filter to prevent interior void or undercut in certain directions. A set of 3D printing and mechanical performance tests are performed. It is interestingly found that, the printing direction affects significantly on the result performance and if subject to the uni direction, the load-bearing capacity increases from the 2.5D samples to the 3D samples with the increased complexity, but the load-bearing capacity further increases for the 3D simplified samples due to directional material removal. Hence, it is concluded that a restricted structural complexity is suitable for topology optimization of 3D-printed fiber composites, since large area cross-sections give more degrees of design freedom to the fiber path layout and also makes the inter-layer bond of the filaments firmer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Polymer-Fiber Composites)
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28 pages, 7699 KiB  
Article
Enhancing the Longitudinal Compressive Strength of Freeform 3D-Printed Continuous Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composite Laminate Using Magnetic Compaction Force and Nanofiber Z-Threads
by Mohammad Rakibul Islam, Md Nazim Uddin, Wyatt Taylor, Ryan Warren and Kuang-Ting Hsiao
Materials 2024, 17(7), 1589; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17071589 - 30 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1054
Abstract
Low fiber-direction compressive strength is a well-recognized weakness of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites. When a CFRP is produced using 3D printing, the compressive strength is further degraded. To solve this issue, in this paper, a novel magnetic compaction force-assisted additive manufacturing (MCFA-AM) [...] Read more.
Low fiber-direction compressive strength is a well-recognized weakness of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites. When a CFRP is produced using 3D printing, the compressive strength is further degraded. To solve this issue, in this paper, a novel magnetic compaction force-assisted additive manufacturing (MCFA-AM) method is used to print CFRP laminates reinforced with carbon nanofiber (CNF) z-threads (i.e., ZT-CFRP). MCFA-AM utilizes a magnetic force to simultaneously levitate, deposit, and compact fast-curing CFRP prepregs in free space and quickly solidifies the CFRP laminate part without any mold nor supporting substrate plate; it effectively reduces the voids. The longitudinal compressive test was performed on five different sample types. ZT-CFRP/MCFA-AM samples were printed under two different magnetic compaction rolling pressures, i.e., 0.5 bar and 0.78 bar. Compared with the longitudinal compressive strength of a typical CFRP manufactured by the traditional out-of-autoclave–vacuum-bag-only (OOA-VBO) molding process at the steady-state pressure of 0.82 bar, the ZT-CFRP/MCFA-AM samples showed either comparable results (by −1.00% difference) or enhanced results (+7.42% improvement) by using 0.5 bar or 0.78 bar magnetic rolling pressures, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Polymer-Fiber Composites)
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26 pages, 8501 KiB  
Article
Process–Structure–Property Relationship Development in Large-Format Additive Manufacturing: Fiber Alignment and Ultimate Tensile Strength
by Lucinda K. Slattery, Zackery B. McClelland and Samuel T. Hess
Materials 2024, 17(7), 1526; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17071526 - 27 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1157
Abstract
Parts made through additive manufacturing (AM) often exhibit mechanical anisotropy due to the time-based deposition of material and processing parameters. In polymer material extrusion (MEX), printed parts have weak points at layer interfaces, perpendicular to the direction of deposition. Poly(lactic acid) with chopped [...] Read more.
Parts made through additive manufacturing (AM) often exhibit mechanical anisotropy due to the time-based deposition of material and processing parameters. In polymer material extrusion (MEX), printed parts have weak points at layer interfaces, perpendicular to the direction of deposition. Poly(lactic acid) with chopped carbon fiber was printed on a large-format pellet printer at various extrusion rates with the same tool pathing to measure the fiber alignment with deposition via two methods and relate it to the ultimate tensile strength (UTS). Within a singular printed bead, an X-ray microscopy (XRM) scan was conducted to produce a reconstruction of the internal microstructure and 3D object data on the length and orientation of fibers. From the scan, discrete images were used in an image analysis technique to determine the fiber alignment to deposition without 3D object data on each fiber’s size. Both the object method and the discrete image method showed a negative relationship between the extrusion rate and fiber alignment, with −34.64% and −53.43% alignment per extrusion multiplier, respectively, as the slopes of the linear regression. Tensile testing was conducted to determine the correlation between the fiber alignment and UTS. For all extrusion rates tested, as the extrusion multiplier increased, the percent difference in the UTS decreased, to a minimum of 8.12 ± 14.40%. The use of image analysis for the determination of the fiber alignment provides a possible method for relating the microstructure to the meso-property of AM parts, and the relationship between the microstructure and the properties establishes process–structure–property relationships for large-format AM. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Polymer-Fiber Composites)
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12 pages, 3614 KiB  
Article
Evaluating the Stability of PLA-Lignin Filament Produced by Bench-Top Extruder for Sustainable 3D Printing
by Siti Aisyah Syazwani Zaidi, Cham Eng Kwan, Denesh Mohan, Shuhaida Harun, Abdullah Amru Indera Luthfi and Mohd Shaiful Sajab
Materials 2023, 16(5), 1793; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16051793 - 22 Feb 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2119
Abstract
As additive manufacturing continues to evolve, there is ongoing discussion about ways to improve the layer-by-layer printing process and increase the mechanical strength of printed objects compared to those produced by traditional techniques such as injection molding. To achieve this, researchers are exploring [...] Read more.
As additive manufacturing continues to evolve, there is ongoing discussion about ways to improve the layer-by-layer printing process and increase the mechanical strength of printed objects compared to those produced by traditional techniques such as injection molding. To achieve this, researchers are exploring ways of enhancing the interaction between the matrix and filler by introducing lignin in the 3D printing filament processing. In this work, research has been conducted on using biodegradable fillers of organosolv lignin, as a reinforcement for the filament layers in order to enhance interlayer adhesion by using a bench-top filament extruder. Briefly, it was found that organosolv lignin fillers have the potential to improve the properties of polylactic acid (PLA) filament for fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing. By incorporating different formulations of lignin with PLA, it was found that using 3 to 5% lignin in the filament leads to an improvement in the Young’s modulus and interlayer adhesion in 3D printing. However, an increment of up to 10% also results in a decrease in the composite tensile strength due to the lack of bonding between the lignin and PLA and the limited mixing capability of the small extruder. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Polymer-Fiber Composites)
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23 pages, 7015 KiB  
Article
Effect of Wood Dust Fibre Treatments Reinforcement on the Properties of Recycled Polypropylene Composite (r-WoPPC) Filament for Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM)
by Z. A. S. Nafis, M. Nuzaimah, S. I. Abdul Kudus, Y. Yusuf, R. A. Ilyas, V. F. Knight and M. N. F. Norrrahim
Materials 2023, 16(2), 479; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16020479 - 4 Jan 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1938
Abstract
The efficacy of wood dust fibre treatment on the property of wood dust reinforced recycled polypropylene composite (r-WoPPC) filament was investigated. The wood dust fibre was treated using alkali, silane, and NaOH-silane. The treated wood fibre was incorporated with r-PP using a twin-screw [...] Read more.
The efficacy of wood dust fibre treatment on the property of wood dust reinforced recycled polypropylene composite (r-WoPPC) filament was investigated. The wood dust fibre was treated using alkali, silane, and NaOH-silane. The treated wood fibre was incorporated with r-PP using a twin-screw extruder to produce filament. The silane treatment on wood dust fibre enhances interfacial bonding between wood fibre and recycled PP; hence, a filament has the highest wire pull strength, which is 35.2% higher compared to untreated and alkaline-treated wood dust filament. It is because silanol in silane forms a siloxane bond that acts as a coupling agent that improves interfacial bonding between wood dust fibre and recycled PP. The SEM micrograph of the fracture structure reveals that treated silane has strong interfacial bonding between wood dust fibre and recycled PP, having minimal void, gap, and good fibre adhesion. The water absorption test results indicate that filament with treated wood dust absorbs less water than filament with untreated wood because the treatment minimizes the gap between wood fibres and recycled PP. The FTIR analysis identified the presence of silane on the wood dust surface for silane-treated wood dust. The DSC studies suggest that the temperature range 167–170 °C be used in the extrusion machine to produce r-WoPPC filament. As a result, r-WoPPc filaments containing silane-treated wood dust have better mechanical properties and have a greater potential for usage in FDM applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Polymer-Fiber Composites)
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16 pages, 2939 KiB  
Article
Effect of Agar on the Mechanical, Thermal, and Moisture Absorption Properties of Thermoplastic Sago Starch Composites
by Nurul Hanan Taharuddin, Ridhwan Jumaidin, Rushdan Ahmad Ilyas, Zatil Hazrati Kamaruddin, Muhd Ridzuan Mansor, Fahmi Asyadi Md Yusof, Victor Feizal Knight and Mohd Nor Faiz Norrrahim
Materials 2022, 15(24), 8954; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15248954 - 15 Dec 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2244
Abstract
Thermoplastic starch is a material that has the potential to be environmentally friendly and biodegradable. However, it has certain drawbacks concerning its mechanical performance and is sensitive to the presence of moisture. The current study assessed agar-containing thermoplastic sago starch (TPSS) properties at [...] Read more.
Thermoplastic starch is a material that has the potential to be environmentally friendly and biodegradable. However, it has certain drawbacks concerning its mechanical performance and is sensitive to the presence of moisture. The current study assessed agar-containing thermoplastic sago starch (TPSS) properties at various loadings. Variable proportions of agar (5%, 10%, and 15% wt%) were used to produce TPSS by the hot-pressing method. Then, the samples were subjected to characterisation using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mechanical analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and moisture absorption tests. The results demonstrated that adding agar to starch-based thermoplastic blends significantly improved their tensile, flexural, and impact properties. The samples’ morphology showed that the fracture had become more erratic and uneven after adding agar. FT-IR revealed that intermolecular hydrogen bonds formed between TPSS and agar. Moreover, with an increase in agar content, TPSS’s thermal stability was also increased. However, the moisture absorption values among the samples increased slightly as the amount of agar increased. Overall, the proposed TPSS/agar blend has the potential to be employed as biodegradable material due to its improved mechanical characteristics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Polymer-Fiber Composites)
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15 pages, 2513 KiB  
Article
Effect of Chemical Treatment of Sugar Palm Fibre on Rheological and Thermal Properties of the PLA Composites Filament for FDM 3D Printing
by Mohd Hakim Mohd Nasir, Mastura Mohammad Taha, Nadlene Razali, Rushdan Ahmad Ilyas, Victor Feizal Knight and Mohd Nor Faiz Norrrahim
Materials 2022, 15(22), 8082; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15228082 - 15 Nov 2022
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 2709
Abstract
The thermal and rheological properties of bio-composite filament materials are crucial characteristics in the development of a bio-composite Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) filament since the printing mechanism of FDM strongly depends on the heating and extrusion process. The effect of chemical treatment on [...] Read more.
The thermal and rheological properties of bio-composite filament materials are crucial characteristics in the development of a bio-composite Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) filament since the printing mechanism of FDM strongly depends on the heating and extrusion process. The effect of chemical treatment on the thermal and rheological properties was investigated to develop composite filaments for FDM using natural fibres such as sugar palm fibre (SPF). SPF underwent alkaline and silane treatment processes before being reinforced with PLA for improving adhesion and removing impurities. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetric (DSC), and Melt Flow Index (MFI) analyses were conducted to identify the differences in thermal properties. Meanwhile, a rheological test was conducted to investigate the shear stress and its viscosity. The TGA test shows that the SPF/PLA composite treated with NaOH and silane showed good thermal stability at 789.5 °C with 0.4% final residue. The DSC results indicate that the melting temperature of all samples is slightly the same at 155 °C (in the range of 1 °C), showing that the treatment does not interfere with the melting temperature of the SPF/PLA composite. Thus, the untreated SPF/PLA composite showed the highest degradation temperature, which was 383.2 °C. The SPF/PLA composite treated with NaOH and silane demonstrated the highest melt flow index of 17.6 g/min. In conclusion, these findings offer a reference point for determining the filament extrusion and printability of SPF/PLA composite filaments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Polymer-Fiber Composites)
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18 pages, 1606 KiB  
Article
Chemical, Radiometric and Mechanical Characterization of Commercial Polymeric Films for Greenhouse Applications
by John Eloy Franco, Jesús Antonio Rodríguez-Arroyo, Isabel María Ortiz, Pedro José Sánchez-Soto, Eduardo Garzón and María Teresa Lao
Materials 2022, 15(16), 5532; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15165532 - 11 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1642
Abstract
In the agricultural sector, companies involved in the production of plastic greenhouses are currently searching for a suitable covering adapted for every climate in the world. For this purpose, this research work has determined the chemical, radiometric and mechanical properties of 53 polymeric [...] Read more.
In the agricultural sector, companies involved in the production of plastic greenhouses are currently searching for a suitable covering adapted for every climate in the world. For this purpose, this research work has determined the chemical, radiometric and mechanical properties of 53 polymeric films samples from Europe and South America. The chemical tests carried out with these samples were elemental analysis (C, H and N) and FT–IR spectrometry. The radiometric properties here studied were the transmission, absorption and reflection coefficients along the spectrum between 300 and 1100 nm. For the mechanical properties, tensile strength, tear strength and dart impact strength, tests were carried out. Finally, all these data were collected, and a multivariate statistical analysis was carried out using the SPSS statistical to group the samples into statistical groups adapted to specific climatic regions. The elemental analysis and FT–IR spectrometry allowed group the samples into nine groups. The samples were grouped according to their chemical (elemental analysis), radiometric and mechanical properties by multivariate analysis. The dendrogram separated five very different groups in terms of number of samples. These groups have specific chemical, radiometric and mechanical characteristics that separate them from the rest. These groups make it possible to narrow down the applications and correlate with the radiometric properties to see in which geographical area of the world they are most effective in increasing yields and achieving higher quality production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Polymer-Fiber Composites)
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