Rheological survey of carbon fiber-reinforced high-temperature thermoplastics for big area additive manufacturing tooling applications

Carbon fiber (CF)-reinforced thermoplastic composites have been widely used in different structural applications due to their superior thermal and mechanical properties. The big area additive manufacturing (BAAM) system, developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, has been used to manufacture several composite components, demonstration vehicles, molds, and dies. These components have been designed and fabricated using various CF-reinforced thermoplastics. In this study, the dynamic rheological and mechanical properties of a material commonly used in additive manufacturing, 20 wt% CF-acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), as well as three CF-reinforced high-temperature polymers, 25 wt% CF-polyphenylsulfone (PPSU), 35 wt% CF-polyethersulfone (PES), and 40 wt% CF-polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), used to print molds were investigated. The viscoelastic properties, namely storage modulus, loss modulus, tan delta, and complex viscosity, of these composites were studied, and the rheological behavior was related to the BAAM extrusion and bead formation process. The results showed 20 wt% CF-ABS and 40 wt% CF-PPS to display a more dominant elastic component at all frequencies tested while 25 wt% CF-PPSU and 35 wt% CF-PES have a more dominant viscous component. This viscoelastic behavior is then used to inform the deposition and bead formation process during extrusion on the BAAM system.

Automated summary

This study investigated the dynamic rheological and mechanical properties of different carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastics used in additive manufacturing, revealing differences in viscoelastic behavior that can inform the extrusion and bead formation process on the BAAM system. The results showed variations in elastic and viscous components among the materials tested, with potential implications for optimizing the printing of molds and components in large-scale additive manufacturing applications.