Fracture and structural performance of adhesively bonded 3D-printed PETG single lap joints under different printing parameters

Link to paper:   Fracture and structural performance of adhesively bonded 3D-printed PETG single lap joints under different printing parameters 

Abstract

The present study, deals with fracture behavior of adhesively bonded 3D-printed joints. Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) is used to print standard specimens with different printing parameters (raster angle, raster width, and layer thickness) using fused deposition modeling (FDM) process. Moreover, adhesive layer with different thicknesses is employed to determine effects of adhesive layer thickness on the structural integrity of 3D-printed joints. By a series of tensile tests on the single lap joint specimens, influence of above-mentioned 3D printing parameters on the mechanical behavior of PETG joints is determined. Moreover, numerical study was conducted to verify experimental results and provide enhanced knowledge on fracture behavior of these types of joints. The nonlinear 3D finite element model of the joint supports mechanical characteristics of both 3D-printed adherends and adhesive materials. The effect of above mentioned 3D printing parameters in stress distribution and failure behavior of the joints are examined and reported. Considering a growing interest in FDM 3D printing technology in manufacturing and numerous applications of adhesively bonded joints, reported results are beneficial for future developments of new designs of 3D printed adhesively bonded products with a higher strength and better structural performance.