Title: Mechanical Properties of Additively Printed, Continuous Carbon Fiber Reinforced, Thermosetting Composites

Authors: Jeffery W. Baur, Andrew C. Abbott, Gyaneshwar P. Tandon, Nathan A. Stranberg, Tyler B. Alvarado

DOI: 10.33599/nasampe/s.22.0837

Abstract: Additive manufacturing (AM) of small-tow, continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites capable of creating complex structures has been demonstrated for several years. However, additive printing of thermosetting (“thermosets”), or reactive matrix, continuous fiber composites has been explored to a lesser extent. Thermosets offer the potential for enhanced thermal stability, environmental durability, and leveraging of current aerospace material systems. Within this paper, we summarize mechanical properties of two thermosetting composite systems (GF-2 and CATPRO14 resin, both with T-1100 carbon fiber) additively manufactured by Continuous Composites Inc. (CCI) via a patented process known as Continuous Fiber 3D Printing (CF3D®). We show that a scalable robotic deposition system can produce composites having low-porosity, high-fiber volume fraction, high thermal stability, and longitudinal mechanical properties that reached 98% of their theoretical modulus,60% of their theoretical strength and achieve roughly 75-85% of the longitudinal properties of traditional manufactured composites.

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Conference: SAMPE 2022

Publication Date: 2022/05/23

SKU: TP22-0000000837

Pages: 10

Price: $20.00