Advisor(s)
Haibin Ning
Selvum Pillay
Committee Member(s)
Alan Eberhardt
Charles Monroe
Haibin Ning
Selvum Pillay
Vinoy Thomas
School
School of Engineering
Document Type
Dissertation
Department (new version)
Materials Engineering
Date of Award
1-7-2025
Abstract
Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a thermoplastic polymer with a low melting point (60°C) and is recognized for its biodegradability and biocompatibility, both of which makes PCL suitable for 3D printing components in biomedical applications. However, its mechanical properties are relatively low and insufficient for some applications such as bone engineering and scaffold design. This study aims to overcome these limitations in mechanical properties by introducing high-performance polymer fibers and by using the fused deposition modeling (FDM) process to print continuous fiber-reinforced PCL composites. This research work focuses on development, testing, and characterization of continuous fiber reinforced PCL composite filaments for extrusion based additive manufacturing. Polypropylene (PP) and polyamide 6 (PA6) fiber reinforced PCL composite filaments were produced by a hot melt impregnation process. A method for characterizing the tensile properties of continuous fiber composite filaments was developed in this study. Furthermore, the continuous fiber reinforced PCL composite filaments, were evaluated on their mechanical properties. The effects of fiber content on the processability and performance of the composite filament were evaluated and compared. Using an FDM printer modified from a conventional plastic printer, tensile and flexural PA6/PCL composite samples were successfully printed. The relationship among printing parameters, microstructure, and mechanical properties of the PA6/PCL FDM composites was investigated. The influence of fiber treatments on fiber-matrix interfacial adhesion was also investigated. Various chemical and physical fiber treatment methods were applied on the polymer fiber to enhance the fiber and matrix interfacial bonding. In addition, a novel fiber pull-out test method was developed to evaluate interfacial bonding strength between the PA6 fiber and PCL matrix. The effects of fiber treatment and interfacial bonding strength on the mechanical behavior of polymer fiber-reinforced composites were studied.
ProQuest ID
Recommended Citation
Yan, Yongzhe, "Processing, Testing, And Characterization Of A Novel Continuous Fiber Thermoplastic Composite Filament For Extrusion Based Additive Manufacturing" (2025). All ETDs from UAB. 7293.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/7293
