Vibration monitoring for in-situ health assessment of 3D printed polymer structure
H I Baqasah1, F He1, M A Khan1, M Asif2 and K A Khan3
1School of Aerospace transport and manufacturing, Cranfield University, Bedford MK43 0AL, UK
2Department of Mechanical Engineering, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
3Aerospace Engineering Department, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Fused deposition modelling (FDM) or 3D printing is a very promising manufacturing process nowadays due to its high precision and automation ability. Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is the most common type of polymer that is utilised in this area. However, mechanical properties of this printed polymer are still being investigated. In this paper, crack propagation prediction in ABS polymer will be investigated under thermomechanical loads. Shakers and heat mats will be used to apply such a load on ABS specimens with different pre-identified crack depths and locations. Ultimately, the behaviour of the crack can be determined to build an empirical correlation by using the natural frequency of the components, amplitude and environmental temperature. In addition, the ABS investigation results will be compared to aerospace aluminium grade (Al-2024) in order to find the potential advantages for ABS to replace it. The findings will offer an in-situ damage assessment tool for ABS polymers under thermo-mechanical loads in which manufacturing process parameters could be optimised for better fracture properties.
