A numerical study on the predicted fiber orientation of large area extrusion deposition additive manufactured composites

Abstract

The recent‐emerging Large Area extrusion deposition Additive Manufacturing (LAAM) provides a low‐cost and high‐efficient alternative manufacturing approach for industries like automotive and aerospace. Fiber orientation information significantly determines the material performances of LAAM‐produced short fiber reinforced composites. Numerical studies have been performed to better understand the microstructural formation of the fiber orientation in deposited beads. The fully coupled flow/orientation analysis approach has been applied for LAAM deposition flow modeling. In contrast, the orientation analysis is still limited to the classic Folgar‐Tucker Isotropic Rotary Diffusion (IRD) model. This paper employs the advanced principle Anisotropic Rotary Diffusion Reduced Strain Closure (pARD‐RSC) orientation evaluation model to estimate the fiber alignment of the LAAM flows, which is firstly used in the simulations of extrusion deposition flows with free surface boundaries. The effects of constant parameters of the pARD‐RSC model are investigated. It is found that predicted fiber orientation results in the flow end are primarily sensitive to the value of the strain slip factor. The initial fiber orientation condition of the flow inlet is also studied. By comparing the computed results with experimentally reported data, it is found that the initial fiber orientation state of the flow inlet significantly impacts the fiber alignment patterns in the deposited beads.

Three‐dimensional polymer composite flow simulation and associated fiber orientation prediction for large area extrusion deposition additive manufacturing

“…Lately, Wang integrated the fullycoupled flow/orientation analysis approach with the sophisticated pARD-RSC fiber orientation prediction model. 24 At the starting condition of 3D-random fiber orientation at nozzle entry, the predicted values of fiber orientation demonstrated good consistency with data from previous experiments. 10 It is widely accepted that the macro anisotropic behavior of the created composites is directly influenced by the fiber orientation within the deposited beads.…”

“…A prior study pointed out the importance of the initial fiber orientation assumption on the final predicted fiber orientation in the flow end. 45 In one of our companion works, 24 we showed that the three-dimensional (3D) isotropic fiber orientation state (cf. Figure 4) assumed in the flow inlet resulted in predicted fiber orientation results in line with related experimental work.…”

Feasibility study on thermo‐mechanical performance of 3D printed and annealed coir fiber powder/polylactic acid eco‐friendly biocomposites

“…Polymer composites reinforced with natural fibers are partially biodegradable and possess advantageous qualities such as minimum weight, comparable specific strength, and economical aspects. 1 These aspects of environmentfriendly natural fiber amalgamated polymer composites have made it a choice of material in the aerospace and automobile industries. 2,3 Natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites offer opportunities to replace synthetic fibers derived from crude oil by-products in composite industries.…”