Mechanical characterization of 3D printed MWCNTs/HDPE nanocomposites

Abstract

The development of polymer nanocomposite blends using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is presented in this paper. Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) based 3D printer is used to realize MWCNT (0.5, 1, 3, and 5 by wt. %)/HDPE nanocomposite (NC) 3D printed samples. The addition of MWCNT increases T<inf>Cryst</inf>, α<inf>Cryst</inf> and T<inf>Melt</inf>. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of neat HDPE and MWCNT/HDPE NCs is also carried out to check their thermal stability at higher working temperatures. The degradation temperature of MWCNT/HDPE NCs is observed to be higher than neat HDPE and increasing with MWCNT content. The filaments are tested for tensile, while specimens are tested for both tensile and flexural properties. It is observed that tensile and flexural modulus and strength improve with increasing MWCNT. Finally, the results of the tensile tested specimens are compared to those of various HDPE composites found in the literature. © 2022