Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

7-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.S.

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Committee Chair

Kuang-Ting Hsiao, Ph.D.

Advisor(s)

Dr. Saeed Latif and Dr. Melike Dizbay-Onat

Abstract

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) laminates often exhibit matrix-sensitive weaknesses and flaws when produced via conventional additive manufacturing (AM) techniques due to the introduction of voids and defects during the AM process. This thesis employs a new approach called Magnetic Compaction Force Assisted-Additive Manufacturing (MCFA-AM) to fabricate Carbon Nanofibers (CNF)Z-threaded CFRP (i.e., ZR-CFRP) composite laminates. This novel method utilized a magnetic force to simultaneously levitate, deposit, and compact Continuous Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (C-CFRP) composites in free space and rapidly solidifies the CFRP part without any mold; and effectively reduces the voids. Previous studies have demonstrated that the incorporation of a zig-zag threading pattern of Carbon Nanofibers (CNF) within ZT-CFRP laminates, manufactured by the traditional OOA-VBO method, strengthens both the interlaminar and intralaminar regions. In this thesis, two different types of mechanical properties (interlaminar shear strength and compressive strength) were tested for different sample types to compare the results of ZT-CFRP/MCFA-AM samples with those of the rest of the samples. The mold-less MCFA-MA process was proven to have more than doubled the production speed of the OOA-VBO molding process.

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