Effect of ambient temperature on the flexural behavior of 3D printed composite beams

Adaptation of the additive manufacturing technology with 3D printers may lead to a new track in the manufacturing of composite materials. This additive manufacturing technology aims to mitigate manufacturing challenges and related design limitations of traditional composite manufacturing methods. The implementation of 3D printing of composite materials has the potential of decreasing the material cost by developing scientific methodologies to understand and optimize this printing process. This study focuses on understanding the flexural behavior of 3D printed composite beam elements and providing material data of both matrix and reinforcement components of composite materials. In this study, the flexural performance at different thermal conditions is experimentally investigated. This investigation involves the effect of the matrix material with and without short-fiber reinforcements for a specified fiber placement in the beam and fiber filaments placement in compression and tension sides of the composite beam elements along with the ambient temperature change.