Usage of 3D Printed Polylactic Acid as a Core Material in Forming of Carbon Fiber Fabric Composite

Abstract

In this study, it is aimed to utilize advantages of additive manufacturing in preparation of laminated composite materials with no need of mold. To do so, the composite was prepared by applying carbon fiber fabric on a polylactic acid (PLA) core produced by additive manufacturing. 2 and 3-laminated samples were used for weight drop tests by appliying 50 J of impact energy. Complete damage was observed with 2-laminated samples, while partial damage occurred on 3-laminated samples with 23.63 J absorbed energy. Moreover, the force-time plot showed a characteristic pattern of the composite structure. Tensile tests revealed that the samples exhibited brittle fracture with limited elongation and had no contribution of the PLA core to the stress-strain behavior. However, two stages were observed in the stress-strain curve of three-point bending test which were attributed to the thermoset carbon fiber laminate layer and thermoplastic PLA core. A maximum bending stress was determined as 138.81 MPa.