Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

8-2024

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

M.S.

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Degree Program

Mechanical Engineering, MS

Committee Chair

Kate, Kunal

Committee Member

Atre, Sundar

Committee Member

Satyavolu, Jagannadh

Author's Keywords

Shape memory Polymers; 3D printing; fiber-reinforced; glass fibers; carbon fibers; mechanical strength

Abstract

This study aims at the development of shape memory polymer composites with two types of reinforcements, milled glass fibers, and chopped carbon fibers, for potential structural applications in aircraft and automotive industries. Glass fiber-SMP composites were made at fiber loading wt.% of 0%, 5%, 10%, and 20%. In contrast, carbon fiber-SMP composites were made at fiber loading wt.% of 0%, 5%, 10% and 15%. The feedstocks were extruded into filaments and characterized by their physical, rheological, chemical properties and morphologies. Fused Filament Fabrication 3D printing was used to manufacture specimens for mechanical testing of hardness and flexural properties. The findings demonstrated significant enhancements in mechanical performance in the case of carbon fiber-SMP composites with increased fiber loading, highlighting the potential of these composites for structural applications, while increasing the addition of glass fibers impedes the mechanical performance of glass fiber-SMP composites. The effect of fiber loading % and some hidden factors, such as fiber-polymer interactions, were analyzed based on the mechanical testing results of flexural modulus and hardness.

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