Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100076

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Composites Part C: Open Access

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jcomc

Effect of process parameters on mechanical properties of 3D printed PLA

lattice structures
Can Tang a,b, Junwei Liu a,b, Yang Yang c, Ye Liu a,b, Shiping Jiang a,b,∗, Wenfeng Hao a,b,∗
a
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China
b
National Center for International Research on Structural Health Management of Critical Components, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China
c
Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials, Aviation Engine Corporation of China, Beijing 100095, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Keywords: In this paper, the mechanical properties of 3D printed PLA lattice structures were studied using digital image
3D printed PLA correlation (DIC), and the effect of process parameters on the mechanical properties of the samples was discussed.
Lattice structure First, tensile samples and lattice structures of the PLA were prepared by Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). Then
Digital image correlation
the tensile experiments were carried out on the tensile samples, and the tensile strength and elastic modulus
Fused deposition modeling
were obtained. Moreover, the compressive experiments were carried out on the 3D printed PLA lattice structures,
Process parameter
and the yield strength, plastic platform stress and densification strain were obtained. The full field displacements
and strains were obtained using DIC. Finally, scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to study the cross-
section of the sample, and the mechanism of the influence of process parameters on the sample was analyzed. The
experimental results show that as the printing temperature increases, the tensile strength and elastic modulus
tend to rise first and then decrease. When the printing temperature is 230 °C, the maximum tensile strength
is 50.16 MPa, and the tensile elastic modulus is 4340.38 MPa. While the yield strength, plastic platform stress
and densification strain of lattice structures show a downward trend. As the printing speed increases, the tensile
strength and elastic modulus show an upward trend, and when the printing speed is 60 mm/min, the tensile
strength and elastic modulus are 51.47 MPa and 5102.12 MPa respectively. Moreover, the yield strength, plastic
platform stress of lattice structures show a downward trend, densification strain show an upward trend.

1. Introduction Due to the advantages of simple equipment operation and low cost,
fused deposition molding (FDM) [10–12] technology has become the
3D printing is a rapid manufacturing technology that adopts auto- most widely used 3D printing. PLA has the advantages of low melting
matically controlled nozzles and performs three-dimensional product temperature and no pungent odor when heated, making it a suitable raw
superposition forming based on digital models, also known as additive material for 3D printing. Karsli and Aytac [13] prepared short carbon
manufacturing technology (Additive manufacturing) [1–5]. Character- fiber reinforced PA6 composite by FDM. The results showed that the
ized by high degree of automation and fast molding, 3D printing tech- modulus of the composite increases with the increase of carbon fiber
nology has been widely used in various fields, such as 3D printing fiber content. Ning et al. [14] prepared carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic
composite materials automobile, rocket, steamship, medical equipment. composite materials by FDM, they regarded tensile properties (includ-
Compared with the traditional manufacturing process, 3D printing has ing tensile strength, young’s modulus, toughness, yield strength), bend-
the advantages of printable composite model, reduced processing cost ing performance (including bending stress, flexural modulus, flexural
and shortened printing cycle [6–9]. However, 3D printing PLA material toughness) and flexural yield strength as the testing index, and discussed
has not been widely used as main load-bearing structures, the princi- the carbon fiber content and length on the mechanical behavior of the
pal reason is that process parameters (printing temperature, speed and sample. Tian et al. [15] prepared samples of continuous fiber and PLA
layer thickness) have a great impact on the mechanical properties of materials by FDM, and investigated the influence of process parameters
the samples during the forming process of 3D printing, its mechanical on the mechanical properties of printing composite materials. The re-
properties cannot reach the expected value. Therefore, it is necessary to sults showed that the fiber content reaches 27%, the bending strength
carry out research on the impact of process parameters on the mechan- and modulus of 3D printed composite are 335 MPa and 30 GPa respec-
ical properties of tensile samples and lattice structures. tively. Hou et al. [16] printed the corrugated structure of the continuous

∗
Corresponding authors at: Faculty of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (S. Jiang), [email protected] (W. Hao).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomc.2020.100076
Received 17 September 2020; Received in revised form 9 November 2020; Accepted 9 November 2020
2666-6820/© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
C. Tang, J. Liu, Y. Yang et al. Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100076

Fig. 3. Model of 3D printed PLA lattice structures.

parameters under compression load. Hao et al. [12] prepared continu-

Fig. 1. The diagram of FDM.
ous fiber reinforced thermosetting composite samples through FDM, and
characterized its mechanical properties. The results showed that the me-
Table 1
chanical properties of thermosetting composite were better than that of
Printing parameters. the same kind of thermoplastic materials. Habib et al. [19] printed six
polymer lattice structures with different cell topologies and investigated
Printing parameters Value their quasi-static energy absorption effect. The results showed that the
Nozzle diameter 0.4 mm tensile buckling dominant structure had higher stiffness and strength,
Layer thickness 0.1–0.3 mm and had lower energy absorption effect. Fadeel et al. [20, 21] investi-
X, Y axis positioning accuracy 0.011 mm gated the influence of four types of vertical braced element structures on
Z axis positioning accuracy 0.0025 mm
Molding size 280 mm × 180 mm × 180 mm
the element stiffness, failure load and sea efficiency through the method
Shell thickness 0.4 mm, 0.8 mm, 1.2 mm of experiment and numerical simulation. The results showed that there
Printing accuracy 0.1 mm were vertical members in the element, the strength of the structure was
greater, and the standard to measure the energy absorption of the struc-
ture was the geometric parameters of the element rather than its qual-
ity. Abueidda et al. [22] investigated the mechanical properties of 3D
Table 2
The designed process parameters. printed polymer structure, and Xu et al. [23] investigated the compres-
sive properties of honeycomb structure strengthened by 3D printed hol-
Printing parameters Value low truss. Letcher and Waytashek [24] printed the samples at 0°, 45° and
Printing temperature 200,210,220,230,240 (°C) 90° directions, and investigated their effects on the mechanical proper-
Printing speed 30,40,50,60 (mm/min) ties of the samples. The results showed that the maximum bending stress
in 0° direction is 102 MPa.
In this paper, the mechanical properties of 3D printed PLA composite
lattice structures were studied using digital image correlation (DIC), and
fiber reinforced composite by FDM, and investigated the effects of print- the effect of process parameters on the mechanical properties of the test
ing parameters, density and fiber content on the mechanical properties. samples was discussed. First, tensile samples and lattice structures of
The results showed that when the fiber content reached 11.5%, the max- PLA were prepared by FDM. Then the tensile experiments were carried
imum compressive strength is 17.17 MPa. Song et al. [17] prepared PLA out on the tensile samples, and the tensile strength and elastic modu-
samples with different printing directions through 3D printing technol- lus were obtained. Moreover, the compressive experiments were carried
ogy, and carried out tensile, compression and fracture experiments. By out on the 3D printed PLA lattice structures, and the yield strength, plas-
optimizing the temperature and speed of extrusion and the speed of tic platform stress and densification strain were obtained. The full field
printing head, the fracture toughness and crystallinity of materials were displacements and strains were obtained using DIC. Finally, scanning
enhanced, and the mechanical properties of the samples were improved. electron microscope (SEM) was used to study the cross-section of the
De Pasquale et al. [18] prepared lattice structures with different process sample, and the mechanism of the influence of process parameters on
parameters by selective laser melting (SLM) and electron beam melt- the mechanical properties of the sample was analyzed.
ing, and investigated the relationship between failure mode and process

Fig. 2. The size of tensile samples.

C. Tang, J. Liu, Y. Yang et al. Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100076

Fig. 4. Photographs of 3D printed PLA lattice structures.

2. Experimental details

2.1. Fused deposition modeling technology

Samples were prepared by FDM. As shown in Fig. 1. The FDM method

is to heat and melt PLA material, then extrude it by printing head and
stick it on printing platform. In process, the x-axis and y-axis of the
printing head achieve single-layer scanning and internal filling, and the
z-axis of the workbench completes multi-layer accumulation, so as to
print the tensile samples. The advantages of FDM is that raw materials Fig. 5. Experimental setups.
are easy to handle and replace, various materials can be selected, with
no warpage and deformation of printed parts, materials have excellent
strength and toughness. The shortcomings of FDM is that the forming In this paper, the Z-603s 3D printer is used, which is a hot-melt
speed is slow, the raw material price is expensive, and the nozzle is easy stacking and curing equipment and can print the 3D model designed
to block. by computer software into a real object. Its basic parameters are shown

Fig. 6. Results of tensile experiment of samples at

different printing temperatures.
C. Tang, J. Liu, Y. Yang et al. Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100076

Table 3
Tensile strength and elastic modulus at different printing temperatures.

Maximum Tensile strength Average Standard Elastic modulus Average Standard

load (N) (MPa) value (MPa) deviation (MPa) (MPa) value (MPa) deviation (MPa)

200-30 1 1374.97 45.83 48 1.85 3394.5 3863.3 405.11

2 1510.38 50.35 4382.9
3 1434.79 47.83 3812.5
210-30 1 1425.53 47.52 49.44 1.38 3604.45 4146.98 384.02
2 1521.64 50.72 4397
3 1502.38 50.08 4439.5
220-30 1 1450.13 48.34 49.64 1.28 4026.5 4261.82 206.07
2 1541.37 51.38 4528.36
3 1476.37 49.21 4230.6
230-30 1 1480.38 49.35 50.16 0.58 4245.6 4340.38 67.05
2 1520.38 50.68 4390.32
3 1513.64 50.46 4385.21
240-30 1 1479.71 49.32 49.66 0.33 4213.63 4293.75 60.83
2 1529.99 50.13 4384.26
3 1495.55 49.52 4283.35

Table 4
Tensile strength and elastic modulus at different printing speeds.

Maximum Tensile strength Average Standard Elastic modulus Average Standard

load (N) (MPa) value (MPa) deviation (MPa) (MPa) value (MPa) deviation (MPa)

200-30 1 1374.97 45.83 48 1.85 3394.5 3863.3 405.11

2 1510.381 50.35 4382.9
3 1434.792 47.83 3812.5
200-40 1 1507.753 50.26 49.64 0.5 3709.8 4084.29 269.45
2 1488.3572 49.62 4210.23
3 1471.391 49.05 4332.85
200-50 1 1516.181 50.54 50.06 0.48 5141.3 5048.22 649.45
2 1506.773 50.23 5793
3 1482.256 49.41 4210.36
200-60 1 1564.553 52.15 51.47 0.7 4158 5102.12 678.59
2 1551.922 51.73 5723.2
3 1515.364 50.51 5425.15

Fig. 7. Results of tensile experiment of samples at dif-

ferent printing speeds.
C. Tang, J. Liu, Y. Yang et al. Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100076

Fig. 8. Results of compression test of samples at differ-

ent printing temperatures.

Table 5 speed, temperature and other process parameters on the quality of the
Maximum load at linear elasticity stage at different temperatures. sample, and the influence of printing temperature, speed, layer thick-
Maximum load (N) Average value (N) Standard deviation (N) ness and other process parameters on the mechanical properties of the
sample. In the two factors, the most important parameters affecting the
200-488.18 509.45 23.72
sample forming are printing temperature and speed. The designed pa-
30 542.54
497.63 rameters of printing temperature and speed is shown in Table 2.
210-314.52 313.3 7.66 The lattice structure used in this paper is shown in Fig. 3 [25].
30 303.38 Fig. 3 (a) is a lattice structure cell. The lattice structure in Fig. 3 (b)
322.01
is composed of 4 × 4 × 4 cells. The cell diameter is 10 mm, and the rod
220-325.46 374.72 38.34
30 379.71
diameter is 1 mm.
418.98 Fig. 4 is the photographs of the lattice structure, which includes the
230-464.21 407.25 40.86 samples with different printing parameters. Due to the structure type of
30 370.3 each parameter is the same, only changes in process parameters, and
387.25
the samples with printing temperature of 200 °C and 240 °C, printing
240-428.90 412.95 17.53
30 388.54 speed of 30 mm/min and 60 mm/min are listed. Three samples of each
421.41 parameter are printed to ensure the accuracy of the experimental re-
sults. A thin layer of white paint is sprayed on the surface of the test
piece as the base color, and then a black matte paint is sprayed as the
Table 6
Maximum load of the elastic stage at different speeds. characteristic spot related of DIC.

Maximum load (N) Average value (N) Standard deviation (N)

2.3. Experimental setups
200-488.18 509.45 23.72
30 542.54
The experimental setups are shown in Fig. 5, where the electronic
497.63
200-252.66 238.01 21.4 universal testing machine was used to applied load. The strain gauges
40 253.60 were used to measure the strain in the tensile experiment, which was
207.74 used to calculate the elastic modulus. The camera was used to capture
200-246.66 275.57 23.09 the pictures during the compressive experiment, which were used to
50 276.86
calculate the strain field by DIC. The VIC-2D system produced by Ruituo
303.18
200-231.95 225.32 37.78 Tech was used to conduct the DIC experiment and data analysis.
60 267.92 The tensile testing device includes tensile testing machine, strain
176.09 gauge and computer controlling software system. The loading rate is
2 mm/min, and the preload is 20N, so as to ensure good contact be-
tween the sample and the chuck. The experimental device and local
in Table 1. The PLA was produced by IEMAI limited company in China, amplification area are shown in Fig. 5(a). The loading device of DIC
and it is white with a diameter of 1.75 mm. In order to ensure the accu- method is shown in Fig. 5(b), including indenter, cold light source, CCD
racy of the samples forming, the specific parameters of the printer are lens and computer with DIC software. The loading rate of the sample
set as follows, thickness of the layer is 0.1 mm, filling ratio is 100%, and is 1mm/min, and a picture is taken every 10s during the experiment.
diameter of the raw material for printing sample is 1.75 mm. The CCD lens is a telocentric lens, the magnification is 30–50 times ad-
justable, the resolution is 1624 pixel × 1224 pixel, the focal length is
2.2. Model design 35 mm, the camera pixel ratio is 0.0482, and the cold light lamp is used
as the light source. Strain measurements range from 0.005% (50 𝜇𝜀) to
Dimensions of tensile samples refer to ‘Test Method for Tensile Prop- 2000% or more.
erties of Fiber Reinforced Plastics’, and the size range printed by the 3D
printer. The size of the tensile sample is shown in Fig. 2. The length of 3. Results and discussions
test sample is 180 mm. The width of the area is 10 mm, the thickness
of test sample is 3 mm, and the unit of size figures in the figure is mm. 3.1. Influence of process parameters on mechanical properties of tensile
3D printing materials are easy to be affected by printing parameters samples
in the process of forming. In order to ensure the quality of samples, it
is necessary to study the two factors of shape control and performance (1) Effect of printing temperature on mechanical properties of tensile sam-
control. The purpose of shape control is to study the influence of printing ples
C. Tang, J. Liu, Y. Yang et al. Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100076

Fig. 9. Results of compression test of samples at differ-

ent printing speeds.

Fig. 10. The status in experiment process of

lattice structures.
C. Tang, J. Liu, Y. Yang et al. Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100076

Fig. 11. U field displacement field calculated from DIC.

sample are not optimal. It is that when the printing temperature is too
low, the material is not completely melted, which affects forming pro-
cess of the sample. When the printing temperature is too high, the upper
layer of material is not completely cooled after melting, and defects are
introduced in the forming process, which reduces mechanical properties
of the sample.
(2) Effect of printing speed on mechanical properties of tensile samples
The tensile strength and elastic modulus of the sample at differ-
ent printing speeds are calculated as shown in the Table 4. The load
displacement curve is shown in Fig. 7. It is concluded that the tensile
strength and elastic modulus of the sample increase with the increase
of printing speed. When the printing speed is 60 mm/min, the maxi-
mum tensile strength is 51.47 MPa, the maximum elastic modulus is
5102.12 MPa, with an average growth rate of 2.34% and 10.33%.

3.2. Influence of process parameters on mechanical properties of lattice

structure

(1) Effect of printing temperature on mechanical properties of lattice structure

The maximum bearing capacity of lattice structure in linear stage

Fig. 12. V field displacement field calculated from DIC. under different printing temperature is summarized in Table 5. The load-
displacement curve and stress–strain curve of quasi-static compression
test are shown in Fig. 8.
According to the load displacement curve in Fig. 8(a), there are three
According to [12], the tensile strength and elastic modulus of the
stages in the compression experiment of lattice structure.
sample are calculated as shown in Table 3, and the load displacement
curve is shown in Fig. 6. As printing temperature increases, the tensile (a) Linear elastic stage: when displacement is loaded to 1.6 mm, the
strength and elastic modulus first rise and then fall. When the printing maximum load is 509.45N, and the load displacement curve is linear.
temperature is from 200 °C to 230 °C, the tensile strength has increased (b) Plastic platform stage: after the linear elastic stage, as the load dis-
by 4.3%, elastic modulus has increased by 11.06%. When the printing placement increases, the upper ring has deformed, and the lower ring
temperature is from 230 °C to 240 °C, the tensile strength has decreased is under elastic deformation. When it is compressed, the cell body
by 1.02%, and the elastic modulus has decreased by 3.32%. The print- deforms elastically. When the compression load reaches the critical
ing temperature is 230 °C, the maximum tensile strength is 50.16 MPa, load of cell wall collapse, the cell wall immediately collapses. When
and the maximum elastic modulus is 4340.38 MPa. Therefore, the print- the load changes little, the displacement increases greatly, and the
ing temperature is too low or too high, the mechanical properties of the cell wall collapses large platform area with good energy absorption.
C. Tang, J. Liu, Y. Yang et al. Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100076

Fig. 13. Shear strain field calculated from DIC.

(c) Densification stage: as the middle ring is squeezed, the structure is 0.21 MPa and 0.41 respectively. As the printing speed increases, the
compacted rapidly. yield strength and plastic platform stress decrease. When the printing
speed is 60 mm/min, the yield strength is 0.15 MPa, the descend range
Fig. 8(b) shows a set of stress–strain curves in the compression pro-
is 53.13%. The plastic platform stress is 0.05 MPa, the descend range is
cess of the testing sample. It can be seen from that when the printing
76.19%. The densification strain is 0.46, the increase range is 10.87%.
temperature is 200 °C, the yield strength, plastic platform stress and
According to the area under the stress–strain curve, it can be concluded
densification strain are the highest, the values are 0.32 MPa, 0.21 MPa
that as the printing speed increases, the smaller the area, the weaker the
and 0.41 respectively. As the printing temperature increases, the yield
energy absorption effect and the worse the energy absorption ability of
strength, plastic platform stress and densification strain decrease. When
the sample. It can be seen from the insets in Fig. 9(b) that the effect of
the printing temperature is 240 °C, the yield strength is 0.26 MPa, the
the printing speed on the equivalent stiffness is more obvious than that
plastic platform stress is 0.06 MPa, and the densification strain is 0.36.
of the printing temperature. The equivalent stiffness of samples with
The descend range is 18.75%, 71.43% and 12.20% respectively. Accord-
printing speed of 40 mm/min is the maximum, and that of samples with
ing to the ratio of stress–strain in linear elastic stage, the equivalent elas-
printing speed of 60 mm/min is the minimum.
tic modulus is 8.895 MPa. According to the area under the stress–strain
Fig. 10 is a screenshot of the lattice structure (printing temperature is
curve, it can be concluded that as the printing temperature increases,
200 °C, printing speed is 30 mm/min) under different loading conditions
the smaller the area, the weaker the energy absorption effect and worse
during compression experiment. It can be seen from Fig. 10 that the
the energy absorption ability of the sample. It can be seen from the in-
lattice structure is compressed to 2% strain, the sample is in the linear
sets in Fig. 8(b) that the printing temperature has little influence on the
elastic stage, and each ring of the lattice structure has partial bending
equivalent stiffness, which is corresponding with the results of the ten-
deformation. However, the structure has not been damaged. When the
sile experiments. The equivalent stiffness of samples with printing speed
sample is compressed to 10% strain, some ring nodes have fracture,
of 230 °C is the maximum, and that of samples with printing speed of
and the cell wall has been damaged. When the sample is compressed
240 °C is the minimum.
to 26% strain, the ring on the top second layer is broken. When the
(2) Effect of printing speed on mechanical properties of lattice structure sample is compressed to 48% strain, the ring in the middle two layers
will be damaged, due to the deformation is too large to reach its strength
The maximum bearing capacity of linear stage of lattice structure limit. When the sample fails, the whole structure has been completely
with different printing speed is summarized in the Table 6. The load compacted, and all the rings are stacked together to form a densified
displacement curve is shown in Fig. 9. structure with good energy absorption ability.
The change trend of the load displacement curve of different print- The reason for this kind of local brittle failure is that the temperature
ing speeds in Fig. 9 is similar to the load displacement curve of different is too high during the printing process, resulting in the residual stress,
printing temperatures in Fig. 8, which only changes at the maximum which makes the lattice structure have micro cracks inside, leading to
load and the loading displacement at each stage. Therefore, the conclu- the lattice structure damage in the process of compression. When it is
sion obtained from the load displacement curve is also similar, which is to print lattice structure by FDM, due to the incomplete melting and
unnecessary to elaborate. other defects in the printing process of PLA, the sample size has certain
Fig. 9(b) shows a set of stress–strain curves obtained during sample error. When applying compression load, the stress of lattice structure is
compression. It can be seen from Fig. 9(b) that when the printing speed uneven in the experimental process, and the phenomenon of local ring
is 30 mm/min, the yield strength, plastic platform stress are the high- damage and falling off occurs.
est, and the densification strain is the lowest, the values are 0.32 MPa,
C. Tang, J. Liu, Y. Yang et al. Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100076

Fig. 14. Fracture samples of testing sample un-

der different process parameters.
C. Tang, J. Liu, Y. Yang et al. Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100076

Fig. 15. SEM electron micrographs of fracture of

samples made by different printing temperature.

3.3. Displacement fields and strain fields of lattice structure field and strain field of lattice structure are calculated by DIC. The
size of sub region is 125 pixel and the step size is 8 pixel. The
It can be seen from the above analysis that the mechanical prop- displacement field and strain field under different loading displace-
erties of lattice structure are the best when the printing tempera- ment are calculated by taking the first image as the reference im-
ture is 200 °C, the printing speed is 30 mm/min. The displacement age.
C. Tang, J. Liu, Y. Yang et al. Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100076

Fig. 15. Continued

Figs. 11–13 are the displacement cloud in x direction, displacement the middle ring is the largest, and the displacement value of the left edge
cloud in y direction and shear strain field cloud of PLA lattice structure. area in the middle ring increases, which indicates that the sample is to
According to the displacement cloud of U field in Fig. 11, it is concluded fail due to too much deformation. When the displacement is loaded to
that when the displacement is loaded to 1.477 mm, the sample is in 26.759 mm, the sample is completely destroyed, and all the rings are
the linear elasticity, which can be obtained from the area of the purple squeezed together.
band in the cloud diagram. The displacement value of the upper ring According to the displacement cloud of V field in Fig. 12, it is con-
is 0.118 mm, as the loading displacement increases, the deformation of cluded that when the displacement is loaded to 1.477 mm, the sample
C. Tang, J. Liu, Y. Yang et al. Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100076

is in the linear elastic stage. According to the different color bands in Fig. 14, where Fig. 14 (a) shows that the printing temperature is 200 °C,
the cloud, the ring at the top of the sample is deformed due to compres- printing speed is 30 mm/min, and Fig. 14 (b)–(h) is similar. The fracture
sion. With the increase of the loading displacement, the displacement surface of the sample is cut by the wire cutting machine, then the cut
value represented by the purple band also increases. When the loading fracture surface is pasted on the sample stage by the conductive adhe-
displacement is 26.759 mm, the maximum displacement of V field is sive, and the gold spray treatment is carried out. Finally, the fracture
28 mm, and the error rate is 4.4%. surface of the sample is scanned by SEM to obtain the fracture surface
According to the cloud of shear strain field in Fig. 13, it is concluded of the sample under different magnification, based on the influence of
that when the loading displacement is 1.477 mm, the ring is in the process parameters on the mechanical properties of the sample is ex-
elastic deformation stage without failure, and the maximum strain is plained.
0.0226 at this time. As the loading displacement increases, the strain In this paper, S-3400N tungsten filament scanning electron micro-
represented by purple band increases. When the loading displacement scope is used to scan the fracture of the sample. In scanning experi-
is 26.759 mm, the sample is completely invalid, and the shear strain ment, the acceleration voltage of the scanning equipment is 15 kV, and
is 1.32. the beam intensity is 71.0 uA. Fig. 15 is electron micrographs of the
According to the local deformation, the ring will produce elastic fracture morphology of the sample at different printing temperatures.
buckling due to compression, and the structure will be damaged under Fig. 15 (a) shows that the printing temperature is 200 °C, the printing
the compression load. According to the overall deformation under the speed is 30 mm/min, and Fig. 15(b)–(e) is similar. According to the frac-
compression load, the panel first deforms elastically. As the compression ture micrograph obtained by SEM, it can be concluded that the printing
load increases, due to panel and the ring are embedded together, they temperature increases from 200 °C to 230 °C, the diameter and num-
are not crushed by the compression load. Instead, the load is transferred ber of holes in the cross-section of the sample are gradually decreasing,
to the ring, resulting in the elastic deformation and buckling of the ring. and the cross-section morphology changes from relatively rough to rel-
When the compression strength of the ring is exceeded, the ring is dam- atively smooth without obvious cracks. When the printing temperature
aged, when a single cell ring is destroyed, the compression load will be is 240 °C, the diameter of the holes in the fracture morphology of the
shared by other rings. As the compression load increases, the middle sample becomes larger and appear more holes, which decelerates the
ring will be extruded by the damage of the surrounding ring, and then mechanical properties of the sample.
will be destroyed. Finally, the whole structure will be compacted and Fig. 16 is an electron micrograph of the fracture morphology of the
become a compact structure. sample at different printing speeds. Fig. 16(a) shows the printing tem-
perature is 200 °C, printing speed is 40 mm/min, and Fig. 16(b)–(c) are
3.4. Fracture morphology analysis similar. According to the fracture micrograph obtained by SEM, it can
be concluded that when the printing speed is 40 mm/min, cross-section
In the preparation of PLA, the microstructure of the sample is the key of the sample is rough, with obvious cracks, and the unmelted materials
factor to affect the mechanical properties. Therefore, by observing the can be observed, reducing mechanical properties of the sample. As the
fracture surface of the sample, which can explain the influence of pro- printing speed increases, the diameter and number of holes in the sample
cess parameters on the mechanical properties of the sample, and then are gradually reduced, and the fracture surface is smooth. Therefore, the
reduce the defects in the preparation process of the material and im- analysis from the microstructure level can explain the increasing trend
prove the molding quality of the sample. The failure diagram of samples of tensile strength and elastic modulus of sample with the increase of
prepared at different printing temperatures, printing speeds is shown in printing speed.
C. Tang, J. Liu, Y. Yang et al. Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100076

Fig. 16. SEM electron micrographs of fracture of

samples made by different printing speeds.
C. Tang, J. Liu, Y. Yang et al. Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100076

4. Conclusions (5) The displacement and strain fields of lattice structure are calculated
by DIC. According to the different color bands in the cloud image, the
In this paper, the mechanical properties of 3D printed PLA lattice damage position of the lattice structure can be observed. When the
structures were studied using digital image correlation (DIC), the effect sample is completely destroyed, the maximum strain of the material
of process parameters on the mechanical properties of the samples was is 1.32.
also discussed. Some important conclusions are as follows:
Declaration of Competing Interest
(1) It can be seen that as the printing temperature increases, the ten-
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
sile strength and elastic modulus first rise and then fall. When the
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
printing temperature increases from 200 °C to 230 °C, the tensile
the work reported in this paper.
strength has increased by 4.3%, the elastic modulus has increased
by 11.06%.When the printing temperature is from 230 °C to 240 °C,
Acknowledgment
the tensile strength has decreased by 1.02%, and the elastic modu-
lus has decreased by 3.32%. The printing temperature is 230 °C, the
The authors are grateful for the financial support provided by the
maximum tensile strength is 50.16 MPa, and the maximum elastic
National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11672279),
modulus is 4340.38 MPa.
Jiangsu Province Science Foundation for Youths (BK20180878), the
(2) It is concluded that the tensile strength and elastic modulus in-
Natural Science Foundation of Colleges and Universities in Jiangsu
crease with the increase of printing speed. When the printing speed
Province (18KJB560004), and the Project funded by China Postdoctoral
is 60 mm/min, the maximum tensile strength is 51.47 MPa, the max-
Science Foundation (Grant No. 2019M651739).
imum elastic modulus is 5102.12 MPa, with an average growth rate
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