CNT reinforced polymer matrix composites

• Main Author: Sia, Seng Hwee
• Other Authors: Sridhar Idapalapati
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Engineering::Mechanical engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/150510
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

A novel hybrid manufacturing technique was introduced in this study as a potential method for filling voids left by raster angles in Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) methods. Post treatment annealing was also performed on the composite sample to study its effect on mechanical properties. CNT composites with stacking orientations in the transverse [90°,90°], bidirectional [0°, 90°], and quasi-isotropic [0°, 45°, 90°, 135°] directions were fabricated. Mechanical properties of the samples were evaluated through tensile, bending and hardness tests. In general, lower tensile, bending and hardness values were reported for the CNT composite. The results revealed that [90°,90°] raster orientation for PLA and CNT composite samples had the worst tensile and bending properties as compared to other orientations. It was revealed that raster angle had negligible impact on the hardness of the composite. Post treatment annealing is concluded to improve hardness value by 0.3% to 11% and is also effective in reducing the size of voids left by raster angle. Post-treatment annealing has helped increased Young`s modulus by 114 % for CNT and 92% for CNT-CF, bending modulus by 18% for CNT and 2 % for CNT-CF when compared to non-annealed sample.