Fordeler ved additiv produksjon av kontinuerlig fiberforsterkede polymerkompositter i forsvar- og luftfartssektoren

Abstract

Oppgaven handler om bruk av sammenhengende fiber i additivproduksjon. Undersøkelsene skal se på hvilke styrker og svakheter additiv produksjon med kontinuerlig fiber har. Oppgaven ser spesifikt på en drone.

This thesis deals with a study on the benefits brought by additively manufactured polymer composites, focusing on 3-dimensionally (3D) printed continuous fibre composites. Three-dimensionally printed continuous fibre composites have received enormous focus of research and development lately, due to the various benefits this manufacturing technology offers, in the field of composites. The primary reason of employing polymer composites in engineering applications is; its lightweight. The reduction of weight is preferred in most engineering applications, due to advantages such as; less fuel consumption and less energy usage. The possibility to 3D-print an engineering component using either polymers or polymer composites is by itself an added value for the polymer industry. Added to that, the recent evolvement of 3D-printed continuous fibre composites, increases further the application range, allowing for 3D-printed composites used also for structural applications. As such, the usage of 3D-printed continuous fibre composites, allows for further lowering the weight of polymer composite structures, after appropriate re-designing for additive manufacturing (AM). Therefore, a typical bulk composite structure can in the future, possibly be replaced by a lattice (truss-like) composite structure, enabled by AM continuous fibre composites.

The thesis will study the benefits of using AM continuous fibre composites, in terms of weight, design freedom and performance, compared to two other materials, one aluminium grade, that is often applied in aviation sector, and one short carbon fibre PE filament for use in regular 3D printers. Also, this thesis will elaborate on the new possibilities AM continuous fibre composites can bring, that would not be possible with other polymer printing technologies such as with FFF, SLS and SLA. The focus of this thesis will be on military and aviation sectors, where the effect of lightweight is very large.