Effect of infill pattern on mechanical properties of 3D printed PLA-Zn composites for drone frame structures: A topology optimization integrated application study
Material requirements and design optimization are two parallel verticals for the ever-growing material-based demands. The demand for enhanced properties of the materials can be satisfied by developing composite materials. The capability of additive manufacturing (AM) to handle complex geometries wit...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-03-01
|
| Series: | Results in Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025001951 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832585047201284096 |
|---|---|
| author | P. Arunkumar D. Balaji N. Radhika L. Rajeshkumar Sanjay Mavinkere Rangappa Suchart Siengchin |
| author_facet | P. Arunkumar D. Balaji N. Radhika L. Rajeshkumar Sanjay Mavinkere Rangappa Suchart Siengchin |
| author_sort | P. Arunkumar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Material requirements and design optimization are two parallel verticals for the ever-growing material-based demands. The demand for enhanced properties of the materials can be satisfied by developing composite materials. The capability of additive manufacturing (AM) to handle complex geometries with ease has opened many avenues in topological optimization and lightweight structural design. In the current work, the drone frame has been modeled using Fusion 360 software and topological optimization was carried out to obtain a structural design with maximum load-carrying capacity with minimum material. Subsequently, PLA-Zn filament (with an 80:20 ratio) was used to develop composite specimens through the fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing technique. The effect of various infill patterns on the 3D printed PLA-Zn specimens on the mechanical properties such as tensile, compressive, and impact strength and hardness were evaluated. All the tests were carried out as per ASTM standards. The results showed that the infill patterns such as octet and cubic exhibited higher mechanical properties with 0.56 kN tensile strength, 60.58 MPa compressive strength, 4.84 J/cm2 impact strength, and 80 shore D hardness. Subsequently, the drone frame was printed using the topologically optimized model with the infill pattern which exhibited maximum mechanical properties. The drone frame was also tested in real time for its mechanical strength. The topologically optimized 3D-printed drone frame with a cubic infill pattern can be used as a low-cost replacement for the currently used conventional frame. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1347ddfa5d934f10b30c7a9421c6782c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2590-1230 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Results in Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-1347ddfa5d934f10b30c7a9421c6782c2025-01-27T04:22:10ZengElsevierResults in Engineering2590-12302025-03-0125104107Effect of infill pattern on mechanical properties of 3D printed PLA-Zn composites for drone frame structures: A topology optimization integrated application studyP. Arunkumar0D. Balaji1N. Radhika2L. Rajeshkumar3Sanjay Mavinkere Rangappa4Suchart Siengchin5Department of Mechanical Engineering, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, IndiaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India; Centre for Research and Development, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, IndiaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Coimbatore, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, IndiaAU-Sophisticated Testing and Instrumentation Centre and Department of Mechanical Engineering, Alliance College of Applied Engineering, Alliance University, Bangalore 562106, Karnataka, India; Corresponding authors.Natural Composites Research Group Lab, Department of Materials and Production Engineering, The Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB), Bangkok 10800, ThailandNatural Composites Research Group Lab, Department of Materials and Production Engineering, The Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB), Bangkok 10800, Thailand; Corresponding authors.Material requirements and design optimization are two parallel verticals for the ever-growing material-based demands. The demand for enhanced properties of the materials can be satisfied by developing composite materials. The capability of additive manufacturing (AM) to handle complex geometries with ease has opened many avenues in topological optimization and lightweight structural design. In the current work, the drone frame has been modeled using Fusion 360 software and topological optimization was carried out to obtain a structural design with maximum load-carrying capacity with minimum material. Subsequently, PLA-Zn filament (with an 80:20 ratio) was used to develop composite specimens through the fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing technique. The effect of various infill patterns on the 3D printed PLA-Zn specimens on the mechanical properties such as tensile, compressive, and impact strength and hardness were evaluated. All the tests were carried out as per ASTM standards. The results showed that the infill patterns such as octet and cubic exhibited higher mechanical properties with 0.56 kN tensile strength, 60.58 MPa compressive strength, 4.84 J/cm2 impact strength, and 80 shore D hardness. Subsequently, the drone frame was printed using the topologically optimized model with the infill pattern which exhibited maximum mechanical properties. The drone frame was also tested in real time for its mechanical strength. The topologically optimized 3D-printed drone frame with a cubic infill pattern can be used as a low-cost replacement for the currently used conventional frame.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025001951Topology optimizationPLA-Zn compositesAdditive manufacturingInfill patternMechanical propertiesApplications |
| spellingShingle | P. Arunkumar D. Balaji N. Radhika L. Rajeshkumar Sanjay Mavinkere Rangappa Suchart Siengchin Effect of infill pattern on mechanical properties of 3D printed PLA-Zn composites for drone frame structures: A topology optimization integrated application study Results in Engineering Topology optimization PLA-Zn composites Additive manufacturing Infill pattern Mechanical properties Applications |
| title | Effect of infill pattern on mechanical properties of 3D printed PLA-Zn composites for drone frame structures: A topology optimization integrated application study |
| title_full | Effect of infill pattern on mechanical properties of 3D printed PLA-Zn composites for drone frame structures: A topology optimization integrated application study |
| title_fullStr | Effect of infill pattern on mechanical properties of 3D printed PLA-Zn composites for drone frame structures: A topology optimization integrated application study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of infill pattern on mechanical properties of 3D printed PLA-Zn composites for drone frame structures: A topology optimization integrated application study |
| title_short | Effect of infill pattern on mechanical properties of 3D printed PLA-Zn composites for drone frame structures: A topology optimization integrated application study |
| title_sort | effect of infill pattern on mechanical properties of 3d printed pla zn composites for drone frame structures a topology optimization integrated application study |
| topic | Topology optimization PLA-Zn composites Additive manufacturing Infill pattern Mechanical properties Applications |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025001951 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT parunkumar effectofinfillpatternonmechanicalpropertiesof3dprintedplazncompositesfordroneframestructuresatopologyoptimizationintegratedapplicationstudy AT dbalaji effectofinfillpatternonmechanicalpropertiesof3dprintedplazncompositesfordroneframestructuresatopologyoptimizationintegratedapplicationstudy AT nradhika effectofinfillpatternonmechanicalpropertiesof3dprintedplazncompositesfordroneframestructuresatopologyoptimizationintegratedapplicationstudy AT lrajeshkumar effectofinfillpatternonmechanicalpropertiesof3dprintedplazncompositesfordroneframestructuresatopologyoptimizationintegratedapplicationstudy AT sanjaymavinkererangappa effectofinfillpatternonmechanicalpropertiesof3dprintedplazncompositesfordroneframestructuresatopologyoptimizationintegratedapplicationstudy AT suchartsiengchin effectofinfillpatternonmechanicalpropertiesof3dprintedplazncompositesfordroneframestructuresatopologyoptimizationintegratedapplicationstudy |