Medical-Grade PLA Nanocomposites with Optimized Tungsten Carbide Nanofiller Content in MEX Additive Manufacturing: A Rheological, Morphological, and Thermomechanical Evaluation
The goal of this paper is to investigate tungsten carbide (WC) as a reinforcement in the popular material extrusion (MEX) additive manufacturing (AM) procedure. The impressive characteristics of WC demonstrate its potential as a valuable additive for commonly used polymeric matrices in MEX 3D printi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Polymers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/15/19/3883 |
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| author | Nectarios Vidakis Amalia Moutsopoulou Markos Petousis Nikolaos Michailidis Chrysa Charou Nikolaos Mountakis Apostolos Argyros Vassilis Papadakis Evgenia Dimitriou |
| author_facet | Nectarios Vidakis Amalia Moutsopoulou Markos Petousis Nikolaos Michailidis Chrysa Charou Nikolaos Mountakis Apostolos Argyros Vassilis Papadakis Evgenia Dimitriou |
| author_sort | Nectarios Vidakis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The goal of this paper is to investigate tungsten carbide (WC) as a reinforcement in the popular material extrusion (MEX) additive manufacturing (AM) procedure. The impressive characteristics of WC demonstrate its potential as a valuable additive for commonly used polymeric matrices in MEX 3D printing, offering reinforcement and stabilization properties. The mechanical properties of hybrid polymer/ceramic nanocomposites made up of various filler loadings (0–10 wt. %) of medical-grade polylactic acid (PLA) and WC were studied. The mechanical characteristics, structure, and thermomechanical properties of the resulting compounds were fully characterized following the respective standards. The fracture mechanisms were revealed with Scanning Electron Microscopy. Overall, a laborious effort was implemented with fifteen different tests to fully characterize the nanocomposites prepared. In comparison to the raw PLA material, the tensile strength of the 4.0 wt. % WC PLA/WC nanocomposite was improved by 42.5% and the flexural strength by 41.9%. In the microhardness test, a 120.4% improvement was achieved, justifying the properties of WC ceramic. According to these findings, PLA nanocomposites reach high-performance polymer specifications, expanding their potential use, especially in wear-related applications. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:36:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-266fa0caad294feba86c494bff1568f5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:36:30Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-266fa0caad294feba86c494bff1568f52023-11-19T14:55:55ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602023-09-011519388310.3390/polym15193883Medical-Grade PLA Nanocomposites with Optimized Tungsten Carbide Nanofiller Content in MEX Additive Manufacturing: A Rheological, Morphological, and Thermomechanical EvaluationNectarios Vidakis0Amalia Moutsopoulou1Markos Petousis2Nikolaos Michailidis3Chrysa Charou4Nikolaos Mountakis5Apostolos Argyros6Vassilis Papadakis7Evgenia Dimitriou8Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, GreeceDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, GreeceDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, GreecePhysical Metallurgy Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Department, School of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, GreeceDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, GreecePhysical Metallurgy Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Department, School of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Industrial Design and Production Engineering, University of West Attica, 12244 Athens, GreecePhysical Metallurgy Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Department, School of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceThe goal of this paper is to investigate tungsten carbide (WC) as a reinforcement in the popular material extrusion (MEX) additive manufacturing (AM) procedure. The impressive characteristics of WC demonstrate its potential as a valuable additive for commonly used polymeric matrices in MEX 3D printing, offering reinforcement and stabilization properties. The mechanical properties of hybrid polymer/ceramic nanocomposites made up of various filler loadings (0–10 wt. %) of medical-grade polylactic acid (PLA) and WC were studied. The mechanical characteristics, structure, and thermomechanical properties of the resulting compounds were fully characterized following the respective standards. The fracture mechanisms were revealed with Scanning Electron Microscopy. Overall, a laborious effort was implemented with fifteen different tests to fully characterize the nanocomposites prepared. In comparison to the raw PLA material, the tensile strength of the 4.0 wt. % WC PLA/WC nanocomposite was improved by 42.5% and the flexural strength by 41.9%. In the microhardness test, a 120.4% improvement was achieved, justifying the properties of WC ceramic. According to these findings, PLA nanocomposites reach high-performance polymer specifications, expanding their potential use, especially in wear-related applications.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/15/19/3883additive manufacturing (AM)material extrusion (MEX)mechanical propertiespolylactic acid (PLA)tungsten carbide (WC)hybrid polymer/ceramic |
| spellingShingle | Nectarios Vidakis Amalia Moutsopoulou Markos Petousis Nikolaos Michailidis Chrysa Charou Nikolaos Mountakis Apostolos Argyros Vassilis Papadakis Evgenia Dimitriou Medical-Grade PLA Nanocomposites with Optimized Tungsten Carbide Nanofiller Content in MEX Additive Manufacturing: A Rheological, Morphological, and Thermomechanical Evaluation Polymers additive manufacturing (AM) material extrusion (MEX) mechanical properties polylactic acid (PLA) tungsten carbide (WC) hybrid polymer/ceramic |
| title | Medical-Grade PLA Nanocomposites with Optimized Tungsten Carbide Nanofiller Content in MEX Additive Manufacturing: A Rheological, Morphological, and Thermomechanical Evaluation |
| title_full | Medical-Grade PLA Nanocomposites with Optimized Tungsten Carbide Nanofiller Content in MEX Additive Manufacturing: A Rheological, Morphological, and Thermomechanical Evaluation |
| title_fullStr | Medical-Grade PLA Nanocomposites with Optimized Tungsten Carbide Nanofiller Content in MEX Additive Manufacturing: A Rheological, Morphological, and Thermomechanical Evaluation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Medical-Grade PLA Nanocomposites with Optimized Tungsten Carbide Nanofiller Content in MEX Additive Manufacturing: A Rheological, Morphological, and Thermomechanical Evaluation |
| title_short | Medical-Grade PLA Nanocomposites with Optimized Tungsten Carbide Nanofiller Content in MEX Additive Manufacturing: A Rheological, Morphological, and Thermomechanical Evaluation |
| title_sort | medical grade pla nanocomposites with optimized tungsten carbide nanofiller content in mex additive manufacturing a rheological morphological and thermomechanical evaluation |
| topic | additive manufacturing (AM) material extrusion (MEX) mechanical properties polylactic acid (PLA) tungsten carbide (WC) hybrid polymer/ceramic |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/15/19/3883 |
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