Performance Evaluation of Additively Manufactured Carbon/Nylon 12 and Carbon/PEEK Thermoplastic Composites

This study explores additive manufacturing of carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites using Composite Based Additive Manufacturing process. The objective of this work is to additively manufacture Carbon/PEEK and Carbon/Nylon 12 thermoplastic composites and then to evaluate performance of the resultant materials. Compression, tension, flexural and impact test were performed to characterize mechanical properties of the additively manufactured Carbon/PEEK and Carbon/Nylon 12 composites. Thermal characterization, specifically differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis, were both performed on each Carbon/PEEK and Carbon/Nylon 12 composites. From experimental testing Carbon/PEEK outperformed Carbon/Nylon for all the mechanical tests conducted. From DSC/TGA tests, degradation of Carbon/Nylon began around 298°C while Carbon/PEEK was stable until 350°C. Both samples had similar onset temperature for decomposition, around 370°C.