On Mechanical, Morphological, and Fracture Properties of Sustainable Composite Structure Prepared by Materials Extrusion-Based 3D Printing

Previous studies have reported that PLA-Al-based composite-based structures may be used in aerospace, automobiles, and biomedical applications. The present study investigated the fracture, morphological and mechanical characteristics of composite 3D-printed materials comprising polylactic acid (PLA) and aluminum (Al) metal powder. In the first stage, materials extrusion-based printing of PLA-Al composite structures was performed by material extrusion process varying the layer thickness (0.15, 0.20, and 0.25 mm), infill density (60, 80, and 100%) and infill pattern (Grid, Line, Zigzag). In the second stage, investigations have been made on the mechanical and morphological characteristics of the manufactured composite structures. The findings of the tensile study demonstrate that the composite structure prepared using 0.20 mm layer thickness, 80% infill density, and zigzag infill pattern possessed the highest tensile strength (39.13 MPa) and the minimum tensile strength (18.47 MPa) was noticed when it was manufactured using 0.15 mm layer thickness, 60% infill density and grid infill pattern. The results of the morphological analysis showed that the samples had a consistent microstructure with few visible cracks. These results suggest that 3D-printed PLA-Al composites have considerable mechanical and morphological characteristics, with possible applications in a variety of fields, like aviation, automobiles, and healthcare.