Effects of Heat-Treatment on Tensile Behavior and Dimension Stability of 3D Printed Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites

This work investigated the effects of heat treatment on the tensile behavior of 3D-printed high modules carbon fiber-reinforced composites. The manufacturing of samples with different material combinations using polylactic acid (PLA) reinforced with 9% carbon fiber (PLACF), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) reinforced with 9% carbon fiber (ABSCF) were made. This paper addresses the tensile behavior of different structured arrangements at different% of densities between two kinds of filaments. The comparison of the tensile behavior between heat treated and untreated samples. The results showed that heat treatment improves the tensile properties of samples by enhancing the bonding of filament layers and by reducing the porosity content. At all structure specifications, the rectilinear pattern gives higher strength of up to 33% compared with the Archimedean chords pattern. Moreover, there is a limited improvement in the tensile strength and modulus of elasticity values for the samples treated at low heat-treatment temperature. The suggested methodology to evaluate the tensile behavior of the pairs of materials selected is innovative and could be used to examine sandwich designs as an alternative to producing multi-material components using inexpensive materials.

Recovery of impact-damaged carbon fiber–reinforced composites using induction heating

Carbon fiber–reinforced composites (CFRCs) have been used extensively in structural applications within the aerospace and automotive manufacturing industries. However, several other applications have been recognized. These take advantage of the additional properties of CFRCs, which lead to providing better performance for structures. However, in their service environment, these CFRCs are inevitably susceptible to impact damage from multiple sources, and they must be able to recover from impacts to meet structural requirements. This study directs an experimental investigation of using induction heating (IH) for an impact-damaged CFRC. Here, IH process parameters, including the effects of electromagnetic frequency and generator power on the recovery of impact-damaged CFRC, have been analyzed. The anisotropic conductivity characteristics and the relationship between the drop-weight impact depth and conductivity of CFRC garnered much attention. This paper also offers the electromagnetic properties of CFRC for various applications. In this study, CFRC cured samples were obtained from Cetex® TC1200 PEEK, AS4 145 gsm, 16 unidirectional plies. Three variants of CFRC samples were tested: undamaged samples; samples with impact damage introduced in the center by a drop-weight impact test, according to the ASTM D7136/7136M standard; and samples with drop-weight impact damage recovered using the IH system. This work presents the results of the tensile strength of CFRC samples to assess the comparison of undamaged samples, samples damaged after the drop-weight impact test, and samples recovered after the drop-weight impact test. IH is appropriate for the recovery of impact-damaged CFRC samples, aiding in the conversion of electromagnetic energy to heat in order to generate mechanisms on components to recover the impact-damaged CFRC samples. Experimental results show that the impact-damaged area of the recovered CFRC samples is 37.0% less than that of damaged CFRC samples, and tensile strength results also improved after the impact-damaged CFRC samples were recovered. These results show that the IH method can effectively improve the impact damage performance of CFRC. The outcome of this study is promising for use in many applications, especially in the aerospace and automotive industries.

Hybrid fiber-reinforced composite with carbon, glass, basalt, and para-aramid fibers for light use applications

This study explores the possibility of incorporating carbon fibers (CFs), basalt fibers, glass fibers, and p-aramid reinforcement fibers into carbon fiber–reinforced composites for light use applications. Hybrid composites can overcome the weakness of CFs and provide flexibility to design materials with the desired properties. The mechanical properties (tensile, flexural, and puncture impact properties) of the prepared hybrid composite were evaluated according to the standards ASTM D3039, ASTM D790, and ISO 6603-2, respectively. The inherent properties of reinforcement fibers, weaving density, and impregnation of a thermoplastic matrix into the composite considerably impact the mechanical performance of the hybrid composite materials.