Additive manufacturing of hybrid continuous carbon/basalt fiber reinforced composites based on bi-matrix co-extrusion

Abstract

A novel three-dimensional (3D) printed hybrid continuous fiber reinforced bi-matrix composite is proposed in this paper to improve the flexural fracture energy and the designability of flexural mechanical properties, combining the excellent wettability of thermosetting resin to distinct fibers and the wonderful extrusion forming ability of thermoplastic for nozzle based additive manufacturing (AM). Numerical simulations are conducted by finite element (FE) and peridynamics (PD) models, enabling an in-depth study for the influence of printed hybrid configuration on flexural mechanical properties. The results show that assigning more basalt fibers at bottom effectively enhances the capability of flexural energy absorption, with the maximum enhancement of 126.1% in contrast to single-type carbon fiber reinforced samples. The combination of experimental analysis and numerical simulation has reference significance for structural optimization and failure prediction of hybrid continuous fiber composites printed by co-extrusion process.