Mechanical performance and manufacturing efficiency of additively manufactured carbon fiber sandwich structures with varying nozzle diameters
Zhaogui Wang, Shuo Zhang, Wei Wang, Bohao YiPurpose
This study aims to investigate the application of composite sandwich structures fabricated via additive manufacturing (AM) in green maritime industries, aiming to provide scaled process references for large-scale marine component manufacturing, enabling weight reduction and improved fuel efficiency in green maritime applications.
Design/methodology/approach
Spiral and honeycomb 3D-printed specimens were produced using short carbon fiber-reinforced ABS (0.6/0.8/1.0 mm nozzle diameters) and preimpregnated carbon fiber cloth for surface reinforcement. Mechanical properties were evaluated through three-point bending tests (CTM-8010 universal tester) and microscopic analysis (Dino-Lite/Keyence VHX-7000).
Findings
The research results showed a larger nozzle size significantly reduces the printing time, improves the material utilization rate and enhances the mechanical properties, while slightly increasing the surface roughness, which is beneficial for adhesion during the carbon fiber reinforcement process. Among the filling patterns, the honeycomb structure exhibits superior mechanical properties, stronger crack resistance and higher density compared to the spiral configuration. However, with the coverage of carbon fiber cloth, the spiral sandwich structure also shows excellent mechanical strength.
Originality/value
This work pioneered the scaled exploration of AM-enabled composite sandwich structures with carbon fiber reinforcement, tailored for large-scale marine manufacturing. Leveraging the scale-independent nature of material mechanical properties, the findings provide direct process references for large format AM of marine components. It revealed that spiral structures, when optimized through AM parameter tuning and surface enhancement, may offer superior adaptability under complex loading conditions compared to conventional honeycomb designs, enabling customized high-performance marine components with reduced weight and enhanced reliability.