College
Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences
Date of Last Revision
2024-06-04 07:23:26
Major
Aerospace Systems Engineering
Honors Course
Aerospace Design Project 1 (AESE 491-001)
Number of Credits
1
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science
Date of Expected Graduation
Spring 2024
Abstract
In this design project, the additive manufacturing filament of short strand carbon fiber (SSCF) reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) composite was developed. The micro-size, precision cut SSCFs were mixed with the PLA pellets through a melting homogenization process. Through this process the composite material block is cut and divided into pieces for ease of pelletizing. The material block pieces are then pelletized to be fed through the single screw extruder to develop the SSCF-PLA composite filament. The SSCF-PLA filaments were manufactured with a varying amount of SSCF ranging from 0.5% to 10% of the material block's weight. Development of a 1% by volume material block was achieved however proved to introduce more inaccuracies in the process when compared to the percentage by weight manufacturing method. The SSCF-PLA composite filament was then fed through a 3D printer to produce samples. The developed composite filaments with different SSCF contents were studied by analyzing their physical and mechanical properties. The SSCF-PLA filament composite was analyzed throughout each stage of the manufacturing process to ensure a homogenous blend of the composite. The developed composite filament has shown a reduction in yield strength (when compared to standard PLA) as there was an increase in SSCF percentage by weight. However, the amount of moisture introduced to the composite through the manufacturing process caused the composite to decrease the printability of the developed composite as the SSCF percentage by weight increased in the developed composite samples.
Research Sponsor
Dr. Manigandan Kannan
First Reader
Murali Krishnan
Second Reader
Aaron Trexler
Honors Faculty Advisor
Dr. Scott Sawyer
Proprietary and/or Confidential Information
No
Recommended Citation
Chenoweth, Dale; Seggi, Lukas; and Phillips, Luke, "Short Strand Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polylactic Acid Filament for Additive Manufacturing" (2024). Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects. 1826.
https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects/1826
Included in
Engineering Mechanics Commons, Manufacturing Commons, Other Aerospace Engineering Commons, Polymer and Organic Materials Commons, Space Habitation and Life Support Commons, Structures and Materials Commons, Systems Engineering and Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Commons