Mechanical properties of carbon and glass fibre reinforced composites produced by additive manufacturing: A short review

Abstract

Fibre reinforced composites are widely used in various sectors such as aerospace, wind energy and automotive. Due to its versatility and low cost for rapid prototyping and production applications, additive manufacturing technology has grown exponentially over the past few years. In this paper, performances of glass fibre and carbon fibre reinforced composites in additive manufacturing are reviewed from the perspective of mechanical properties. From the review, the reinforcements generally improve mechanical properties, in particular for tensile modulus and tensile strength. The paper presents a benchmark of additive manufacturing technologies for composite material as well as the spotlights of further research in the usage of carbon and glass fibres in rapid prototyping processes.