The investigation of PLA-talc composite in 3D printing
Date
2020
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
PLA is one of the most used thermoplastic polymers due to both good mechanical properties and environmentally-friendly features. It is also widely available due to mass production and is cost-efficient for consumers and is used in many business markets. Additive Manufacturing is one such business where PLA is a useful material. However, PLA has relatively low thermal resistance and it leads to poor mechanical strength of nal applications. To address this issue, the crystallinity of PLA needs to be maximized by using additives to upgrade the product quality. In this thesis, talc was chosen as a nucleating agent and rst PLA and talc were independently investigated to understand their characteristics. Then, they were mixed together in a twin screw extruder to produce a series of composite samples by varying talc concentrations. These samples were examined via DSC analysis to determine the effect of the additive on PLA properties.
Description
Keywords
3D printing, DSC, PLA, Specific rotation of PLA, Talc, Thermal analysis