Effect of SiC/Al₂O₃ particle size reinforcement in recycled LDPE matrix on mechanical properties of FDM feed stock filament

ABSTRACT

In this research work, an effort has been made to develop fused deposition modelling (FDM), feed stock filament wire from recycled low-density polyethylene (LDPE) with different particle sizes (i.e. single particle size (SPS), double particle size (DPS) and triple particle size (TPS) in different proportions) of SiC/Al₂O₃ as reinforcement. After evaluation of melt flow index (MFI), the best combinations were selected and used for filament wire preparation on twin screw extruder. The results of the study highlight that Al₂O₃-based DPS reinforcement resulted in better mechanical properties of the feed stock filament. Finally, the non-functional prototypes have been printed with feed stock filament prepared on open-source FDM. The Al₂O₃-based DPS reinforcement in LDPE resulted in better dimensional stability with improved surface hardness. The results have been supported by SEM-based photomicrographs and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).

KEYWORDS:

• Al₂O₃/SiC
• FDM
• melt flow index
• LDPE
• differential scanning calorimetry
• thermal analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Piyush Bedi is Ph.D research scholar in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Punjabi University, Patiala (India). His area of interest is rapid prototyping and tooling. He has published more than 20 research papers in International Journals and conferences.

Rupinder Singh is Professor Production Engineering at Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana (India). He has more than 400 research publications in the area of additive manufacturing.

IPS Ahuja is Professor Mechanical Engineering at Punjabi University, Patiala. He has more than 300 research publications.

Additional information

Funding

The authors are highly thankful to Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology [grant number TSG/NTS/2014/104] for providing financial assistance to carry out the research work.