Effect of Fiber Loading on the Chemical, Structural and Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Polylactic Acid/Abaca Microcrystalline Cellulose Composites

Abstract

In an attempt to improve the physical properties of 3D printed poly lactic acid (PLA), this study aims to develop a microcrystalline cellulose fiber and observe the effects of fiber loading on the PLA/cellulose composites to the composition, crystallinity, morphology, and tensile properties of the resulting 3D printed material. Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) have been extracted from indigenous raw abaca fibers and used as the fiber reinforcement for the PLA matrix. Composites of 1 and 3 wt% MCC fibers with PLA were processed using the twin-screw extruder to produce filaments. The resulting composite filaments were 3D printed utilizing the fused deposition modeling technology. FTIR, XRD, digital microscopy, and mechanical testing were used in characterizing the various 3D printed PLA/MCC composite. With the incorporation of cellulose, the PLA/MCC had up to 32% increase in tensile strength and 43% increase in modulus at just 3 wt% fiber loading due to the inherent high modulus of abaca cellulose. The MCC significantly influences the chemical, structural and mechanical properties of the 3D printed PLA/MCC composites.

Influence of Philippine Halloysite on Thermal and Mechanical Performance of Poly(Lactic Acid) Filament for FDM Printing Applications

“…Due to limited supply of HSC powders, only one powder loading was explored in the study. Moreover, preliminary experiments with PLA and other additives have shown that powder loading of 3% ranged between mid-level to high-level setting [8]. Composite with mass fraction of 97/3 (PLA/HSC) was prepared by melt compounding using a twin-screw extruder (LabTech Engineering Co. Ltd., LTE20-40 (35:1), Thailand) with 40 mm co-rotating screws.…”

“…PLA is a widely used due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, high modulus-high strength property, and excellent optical transparency [7]. Related studies showed that microcrystalline cellulose from natural fibers improved mechanical properties of PLA filaments with 1-3% additive loading [8]. According to another study, halloysite also imparts increased crystallinity to PLA [9].…”