Influence of second-phase particles on fracture behavior of PLA and advanced PLA-X material

Abstract

Most widespread materials in Additive Manufacturing are PLA (PolyLactic Acid) and ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), which are dissimilar materials in terms of printing abilities and mechanical properties. PLA material originates from renewable resources making it better solution for environment in comparison with petroleum-based ABS material. Addition of second-phase particles to polymer matrix may have a substantial influence on mechanical properties of created material. Subject of this paper are natural PLA material and advanced PLA material with addition of second-phase particles (''PLA-X'') which has similar mechanical properties as ABS material, making it a perfect PLA based substitute. Tensile tests are conducted according to ISO 527-2 standard. Subject of this paper is the analysis of fracture behaviour of PLA and advanced PLA-X material, which ranges from brittle to formation of large craze zones before fracture. Analysis is conducted for five batches of both materials, with variation in printing parameters. The main focus of this research was to evaluate the influence of second-phase particles on fracture behaviour of PLA and advanced PLA-X material.