Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering
Modulating Mechanical Properties Of Polymer Composites Via Colloidal Particle Reinforcement, Yusheng Guo
Modulating Mechanical Properties Of Polymer Composites Via Colloidal Particle Reinforcement, Yusheng Guo
LSU Master's Theses
Additive manufacturing allows the rapid process of complex objects with excellent design flexibility. However, the products often exhibit poor mechanical properties when pure polymer is applied as printable material. In this work, we demonstrate that printability of polymer can be dramatically improved when particle filler is added to form reinforced polymer composites. Furthermore, the interaction between filler and polymer matrix leads to the enhancement in mechanical properties of the printed product. The material reinforcement induced by addition of fillers enables the wide application of polymer composites to print structures with unique features. In the printing of silica-reinforced pNIPAM composite, we …