Utilization of waste slate powder in poly(lactic acid) based composite for 3D printer filament
Khan Imtiyaz, Neeraj Kumar, Jandel Singh Yadav, Mahavir Choudhary, Aditya Chauhan, Tej Singh
Abstract
This work aims to develop and validate a novel composite material for fused deposition additive manufacturing utilizing poly (lactic acid) (PLA) and discarded slate powder. The slate powder is mixed into PLA filaments at varying percentages (0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%) using a twin screw extruder. The resulting filaments are used in a 3D printer to print the test specimens. The tensile strength of the testing specimens is improved up to 5 wt% by incorporating slate powder. In contrast, the tensile modulus, hardness, and impact strength are raised with slate powder up to 15 wt% in PLA-based filament by 19.03%, 10.67%, and 31.63%, respectively. The maximum flexural strength and modulus values are 93.25 MPa and 4.15 GPa, respectively, achieved at 10 wt% slate powder content PLA matrix. Moreover, slate powder's presence significantly affects the composites' dynamic mechanical properties, such as storage, loss modulus, and damping factor. The composite's entanglement density, C-factor, adhesion efficiency, and reinforcing efficiency factor are investigated using dynamic mechanical properties and correlated with their structural integrity. Results show that 10 wt% slate powder in the PLA matrix is sufficient for their successful application.