Mechanical Characterizations of 3D-printed PLLA/Steel Particle Composites

Authors

Hozhabr Mozafari, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Pengfei Dong, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Haitham Hadidi, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Michael P. Sealy, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Linxia Gu, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

ORCID IDs

0000-0003-2637-0299

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2019

Citation

Materials 2019, 12, 1

Comments

© 2018 by the authors.

Open access

doi:10.3390/ma12010001

Abstract

The objective of this study is to characterize the micromechanical properties of poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) composites reinforced by grade 420 stainless steel (SS) particles with a specific focus on the interphase properties. The specimens were manufactured using 3D printing techniques due to its many benefits, including high accuracy, cost effectiveness and customized geometry. The adopted fused filament fabrication resulted in a thin interphase layer with an average thickness of 3 μm. The mechanical properties of each phase, as well as the interphase, were characterized by nanoindentation tests. The effect of matrix degradation, i.e., imperfect bonding, on the elastic modulus of the composite was further examined by a representative volume element (RVE) model. The results showed that the interphase layer provided a smooth transition of elastic modulus from steel particles to the polymeric matrix. A 10% volume fraction of steel particles could enhance the elastic modulus of PLLA polymer by 31%. In addition, steel particles took 37% to 59% of the applied load with respect to the particle volume fraction. We found that degradation of the interphase reduced the elastic modulus of the composite by 70% and 7% under tensile and compressive loads, respectively. The shear modulus of the composite with 10% particles decreased by 36%, i.e., lower than pure PLLA, when debonding occurred.