Browsing by Author "Silva, Miguel Filipe Lola da"
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- Study and characterization of specimens obtained through additive manufacturing technologies with thermoplastic matrix and carbon fibrePublication . Silva, Miguel Filipe Lola da; Leite, Afonso Manuel da Costa Sousa; Portal, Ricardo José Fontes; Novo, Paulo Jorge da Costa ParenteAbstract The use of thermoplastic matrix in continuous fibres composites is relatively recent with the number of potential applications steadily growing. However, the use of thermoplastics as a matrix comes with several challenges since thermoplastic polymers present much higher viscosity than thermosets, resulting in much more difficult and complex reinforcement impregnation and consequent consolidation tasks. This research focuses on the study and characterization of specimens produced through two additive manufacturing (AM) technologies: Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) and Automated Fibre Placement (AFP). Both techniques employ a polyamide thermoplastic matrix reinforced with continuous carbon fibre, and mechanical behaviour will be evaluated by analysing their tensile, flexural and interlaminar shear strength properties. To characterize the materials and specimens, several techniques were used, such as SEM, DSC, TGA, FTIR calcination or Micro-CT. For the production of FFF specimens a commercially available 3D printer capable of printing continuous fibre filaments was used, and to produce the AFP specimens, a functional prototype was first developed and then the tapes produced. With all the necessary conditions reached, the specimens were produced. To analyse the AFP specimens a Design of Experiments was implemented, with the influence of the most pertinent process variables also being analysed. Finally, the specimens produced by the different additive manufacturing techniques were evaluated and compared in terms of their mechanical properties and pose.