Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Mechanical Behavior and Morphological Characteristics of 3D Printed Materials Made via Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)

Abstract

Over the past two decades, Additive Manufacturing (AM) as a mean of production has seen rapid growth in adoption across a wide spectrum of industrial sectors. While additively manufactured materials are commonly inferior in strength than those same materials manufactured using traditional methods, the many inherent advantages of AM still make it an appealing alternative to traditional manufacturing methods. Among all the AM techniques, Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) has been one of the most popular AM technologies fielded by the industry. With the introduction and popularization of high performance thermoplastic feedstocks, FDM is being explored as a viable option for fabrication of load-bearing components in end-use products. The focus of this thesis is in developing a morphological characterization package based on digital image analysis to analyze the microstructure of FDM additively manufactured materials, and to adapt a discrete finite element model developed by Antonio Deleo at MAMS lab UW to capture their mechanical behavior under uni-axial tensile loading as a function of the print directions. This thesis is the first part of a multi-stage process aimed at developing a complete, physics based guideline for the design of FDM manufactured components, laying down the groundwork for future studies.