Elastic properties of 3D printed fibre-reinforced structures

This paper aims to evaluate the elastic properties of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) structures printed by three-dimensional (3D) printing technology. Both experimental and theoretical approaches are adopted to investigate the performance of FRP 3D-printed structures and predict their elastic properties. Three types of FRP materials were considered in this study including Carbon, Kevlar and Glass printed in selected arrangements of fibre filaments and Nylon matrix. An analytical model was developed based on the Volume Average Stiffness (VAS) method to predict elastic properties of 3D printed coupons, while the numerical model was developed using Abaqus to predict the failure modes and damage in the FRP 3D-printed coupons tested in this study. A parametric study was carried out to develop the mathematical expressions for calculating elastic properties of FRP 3D-printed structures. The parametric study indicates that the level of fibre reinforcements and their orientation arrangement have significant effects on the structural performance of FRP 3D-printed composite sections.