3D-Printed Pseudo Ductile Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composite Using Discrete Fiber Orientations

The use of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials are continuously growing in civil infrastructure due to their high strength, low weight, and manufacturing flexibility. However, FRP is characterized by sudden failure and lacks ductility. When used in construction, gradual failure of FRP components is desired to avoid catastrophic structural collapse. Due to its mechanical orthotropy, the behavior of FRP relies significantly on fiber orientation and stacking sequence. In this paper, a novel multi-angled glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite laminate showing pseudo ductile behavior is produced using 3D-printing. This is accomplished by varying fiber orientation angles, stacking sequence, and thickness of lamina. Single-angled GFRP composite specimens were 3D-printed with different fiber orientation angles of 0°, 12°, 24°, 30°, 45°, and 90° using continuous and fused filament techniques. The tension test results of the single-angled specimens were then used to aid the design of multi-angled laminate for potential progressive failure behavior. A 3D finite element (FE) model was developed to predict the response of the experimental results and to provide insight into the failure mechanism of the multi-angled laminate. The experimental observations and the FE simulations show the possibility of producing pseudo ductile FRP-by-design composite using 3D-printing technology, which leads the way to fabricate next-generation composites for civil infrastructure.