Mechanical, thermal and morphological analysis of 3D-printed woven glass fiber-reinforced polylactic acid composites using TLBO and ANN

Purpose This study aims to improve the existing three-dimensional (3D) printing technology to use woven glass fiber (WGF) sheets for the fabrication of laminated polylactic acid (PLA) composite and to enhance the mechanical properties of laminated composite specimens through optimization of key 3D printing parameters and the use of fabric reinforcement. Design/methodology/approach WGF-reinforced PLA composites were fabricated by varying infill geometry, infill density, layer thickness and print speed. The effect of input parameters on the mechanical characteristics of the fabricated composites was analyzed by conducting tensile, flexural and compressive testing. The optimal input configuration was computed through teaching- and learning-based optimization (TLBO) and artificial neural network (ANN) algorithms, respectively, followed by the printing of another set of specimens by varying bed temperature (BT) and nozzle temperature (NT). Fractured samples were analyzed through scanning electron microscope and thermogravimetric analysis. Findings Optimal parameters identified using TLBO and ANN algorithm were found to be a combination of infill density of 90%, hexagonal infill geometry, layer thickness of 0.1 mm, print speed of 100 mm/s, BT of 60°C and NT of 240°C showing a maximum tensile, flexural and compressive strength of 50, 79 and 99.53 MPa with the highest degradation temperature of 360.78°C. Originality/value The novelty of this study lies in the application of WGF sheets between 3D printed PLA, which produces laminated composites, and an extensive study of the effect of 3D printing parameters on the mechanical properties of such composites.