Flexural response of 3D printed wood dust reinforced polymer composite

• Published in: Materials today : proceedings 2023-07
• Main Authors: Parikh, Hiral H., Chokshi, Sagar, Chaudhary, Vijay, Khan, Adil, Mistry, Jitendra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 3D Printing; Additive Manufacturing; Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites; Mechanical Characterization; Polylactic acid
• ISSN: 2214-7853; 2214-7853
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matpr.2023.06.375

The rising environmental concern and inadequacy of conventional resources have led to increasing demand for new bio composite materials for various products and as a unique substitute for traditional and petroleum-based materials for different applications. The major constraint in most conventional bio composites manufacturing techniques is a mold or complex setup requirement, which leads to a lengthy manufacturing process. 3D printing manufacturing technique has extended a huge attention in current years because of its simplicity in manufacturing complex geometries. This work is aimed to determine the flexural response of 3D printed wood –PLA composite. Due to PLA's low mechanical properties, wood dust had added to enhance the properties. 22 wt% Wood dust filled PLA filament is procured with a 1.75 mm diameter. Five test samples have been printed with the fused deposited 3D printing technique. The flexural behavior – flexural strength, flexural Strain and flexural modulus, of the developed material, was tested with the help of a universal tensile testing machine. The test results revealed the maximum flexural strength of the material is 36 MPa with a maximum Strain of 3.55% and modulus of 1.4 GPa. Wood dust acts as a filler and has improved the material’s flexibility, also, wood particles make the material porous and that affect the interfacial adhesion between wood and PLA polymer in 3D printing which reduce the strength.