scholarly journals Effect of Porosity on Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Polymers: Experiments and Micromechanical Modeling Based on X-Ray Computed Tomography Analysis

Polymers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wang ◽  
Zhao ◽  
Fuh ◽  
Lee

Additive manufacturing (commonly known as 3D printing) is defined as a family of technologies that deposit and consolidate materials to create a 3D object as opposed to subtractive manufacturing methodologies. Fused deposition modeling (FDM), one of the most popular additive manufacturing techniques, has demonstrated extensive applications in various industries such as medical prosthetics, automotive, and aeronautics. As a thermal process, FDM may introduce internal voids and pores into the fabricated thermoplastics, giving rise to potential reduction on the mechanical properties. This paper aims to investigate the effects of the microscopic pores on the mechanical properties of material fabricated by the FDM process via experiments and micromechanical modeling. More specifically, the three-dimensional microscopic details of the internal pores, such as size, shape, density, and spatial location were quantitatively characterized by X-ray computed tomography (XCT) and, subsequently, experiments were conducted to characterize the mechanical properties of the material. Based on the microscopic details of the pores characterized by XCT, a micromechanical model was proposed to predict the mechanical properties of the material as a function of the porosity (ratio of total volume of the pores over total volume of the material). The prediction results of the mechanical properties were found to be in agreement with the experimental data as well as the existing works. The proposed micromechanical model allows the future designers to predict the elastic properties of the 3D printed material based on the porosity from XCT results. This provides a possibility of saving the experimental cost on destructive testing.

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
Nanang Ali Sutisna ◽  
Rakha Amrillah Fattah

The method of producing items through synchronously depositing material level by level, based on 3D digital models, is named Additive Manufacturing (AM) or 3D-printing. Amongs many AM methods, the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technique along with PLA (Polylactic acid) material is commonly used in additive manufacturing. Until now, the mechanical properties of the AM components could not be calculated or estimated until they've been assembled and checked. In this work, a novel approach is suggested as to how the extrusion process affects the mechanical properties of the printed component to obtain how the parts can be manufactured or printed to achieve improved mechanical properties. This methodology is based on an experimental procedure in which the combination of parameters to achieve an optimal from a manufacturing experiment and its value can be determined, the results obtained show the effect of the extrusion process affects the mechanical properties.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dayeong Hong ◽  
HaeKang Kim ◽  
Taehun Kim ◽  
Yong-Hee Kim ◽  
Namkug Kim

AbstractHerein, realistic and reusable phantoms for simulation of pediatric lung video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) were proposed and evaluated. 3D-printed phantoms for VATS were designed based on chest computed tomography (CT) data of a pediatric patient with esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula. Models reflecting the patient-specific structure were fabricated based on the CT images. Appropriate reusable design, realistic mechanical properties with various material types, and 3D printers (fused deposition modeling (FDM) and PolyJet printers) were used to represent the realistic anatomical structures. As a result, the phantom printed by PolyJet reflected closer mechanical properties than those of the FDM phantom. Accuracies (mean difference ± 95 confidence interval) of phantoms by FDM and PolyJet were 0.53 ± 0.46 and 0.98 ± 0.55 mm, respectively. Phantoms were used by surgeons for VATS training, which is considered more reflective of the clinical situation than the conventional simulation phantom. In conclusion, the patient-specific, realistic, and reusable VATS phantom provides a better understanding the complex anatomical structure of a patient and could be used as an educational phantom for esophageal structure replacement in VATS.


2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (21-22) ◽  
pp. 2399-2410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahbaj Kabir ◽  
Hyelim Kim ◽  
Sunhee Lee

This study has investigated the physical properties of 3D-printable shape memory thermoplastic polyurethane (SMTPU) filament and its 3D-printed sinusoidal pattern obtained by fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology. To investigate 3D filaments, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and SMTPU filament were examined by conducting infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and a tensile test. Then, to examine the 3D-printed sinusoidal samples, a sinusoidal pattern was developed and 3D-printed. Those samples went through a three-step heating process: (a) untreated state; (b) 5 min heating at 70°C, cooling for 30 min at room temperature; and (c) a repeat of step 2. The results obtained by the three different heating processes of the 3D-printed sinusoidal samples were examined by XRD, DMTA, DSC and the tensile test to obtain the effect of heating or annealing on the structural and mechanical properties. The results show significant changes in structure, crystallinity and thermal and mechanical properties of SMTPU 3D-printed samples due to the heating steps. XRD showed the increase in crystallinity with heating. In DMTA, storage modulus, loss modulus and the tan σ peak position also changed for various heating steps. The DSC result showed that the Tg for different steps of the SMTPU 3D-printed sample remained almost the same at around 51°C. The tensile property of the TPU 3D-printed sinusoidal sample decreased in terms of both load and elongation with increased heating processes, while for the SMTPU 3D-printed sinusoidal sample, the load decreased but elongation increased about 2.5 times.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 404-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tharmalingam Sivarupan ◽  
Mohamed El Mansori ◽  
Keith Daly ◽  
Mark Noel Mavrogordato ◽  
Fabrice Pierron

Purpose Micro-focus X-ray computed tomography (CT) can be used to quantitatively evaluate the packing density, pore connectivity and provide the basis for specimen derived simulations of gas permeability of sand mould. This non-destructive experiment or following simulations can be done on any section of any size sand mould just before casting to validate the required properties. This paper aims to describe the challenges of this method and use it to simulate the gas permeability of 3D printed sand moulds for a range of controlling parameters. The permeability simulations are compared against experimental results using traditional measurement techniques. It suggests that a minimum volume of only 700 × 700 × 700 µm3 is required to obtain, a reliable and most representative than the value obtained by the traditional measurement technique, the simulated permeability of a specimen. Design/methodology/approach X-ray tomography images were used to reconstruct 3D models to simulate them for gas permeability of the 3D printed sand mould specimens, and the results were compared with the experimental result of the same. Findings The influence of printing parameters, especially the re-coater speed, on the pore connectivity of the 3D printed sand mould and related permeability has been identified. Characterisation of these sand moulds using X-ray CT and its suitability, compared to the traditional means, are also studied. While density and 3PB strength are a measure of the quality of the moulds, the pore connectivity from the tomographic images precisely relates to the permeability. The main conclusions of the present study are provided below. A minimum required sample size of 700 × 700 × 700 µm3 is required to provide representative permeability results. This was obtained from sand specimens with an average sand grain size of 140 µm, using the tomographic volume images to define a 3D mesh to run permeability calculations. Z-direction permeability is always lower than that in the X-/Y-directions due to the lower values of X-(120/140 µm) and Y-(101.6 µm) resolutions of the furan droplets. The anisotropic permeability of the 3D printed sand mould is mainly due to, the only adjustable, X-directional resolution of the furan droplets; the Y-directional resolution is a fixed distance, 102.6 µm, between the printhead nozzles and the Z-directional one is usually, 280 µm, twice the size of an average sand grain.A non-destructive and most representative permeability value can be obtained, using the computer simulation, on the reconstructed 3D X-ray tomography images obtained on a specific location of a 3D printed sand mould. This saves time and effort on printing a separate specimen for the traditional test which may not be the most representative to the printed mould. Originality/value The experimental result is compared with the computer simulated results.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Ümit Çevik ◽  
Menderes Kam

In addition to traditional manufacturing methods, Additive Manufacturing (AM) has become a widespread production technique used in the industry. The Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) method is one of the most known and widely used additive manufacturing techniques. Due to the fact that polymer-based materials used as depositing materials by the FDM method in printing of parts have insufficient mechanical properties, the technique generally has limited application areas such as model making and prototyping. With the development of polymer-based materials with improved mechanical properties, this technique can be preferred in wider application areas. In this context, analysis of the mechanical properties of the products has an important role in the production method with FDM. This study investigated the mechanical properties of the products obtained by metal/polymer composite filament production and FDM method in detail. It was reviewed current literature on the production of metal/polymer composite filaments with better mechanical properties than filaments compatible with three-dimensional (3D) printers. As a result, it was found that by adding reinforcements of composites in various proportions, products with high mechanical properties can be obtained. Thus, it was predicted that the composite products obtained in this way can be used in wider application areas.


2014 ◽  
Vol 91 ◽  
pp. 70-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Ortona ◽  
Ehsan Rezaei

Cellular ceramics are attracting material solutions for high temperature applications because of their outstanding properties. SiC cellular ceramics in particular withstand harsh environments at high temperatures for long operating times and are particularly resistant to thermal shock. Ceramic foams though, being random fragile structures, comprise properties which are rather scattered and difficult to engineer. This presentation shows how finite element analysis is used to study the effect of morphological features on ceramic foams in respect of their mechanical properties. Mean morphological parameters, obtained by X-ray computed tomography (XCT) on a commercially available SiSiC foam produced by the replica method, were used to generate a set of lattices in which one parameter was varied at a time. Starting from this approach, further work was then dedicated to optimize their properties. Polymeric lattices and foams, in which some characteristics were digitally modified learning from the optimization work were, produced by 3D printing and ceramized via the replica method. Both foams and lattices were then mechanically tested. Results show that some features such as strut shape and cell stretching affect the mechanical behavior of ceramic foams.


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