Fatigue and Experimental Analysis of Printed Polymer Specimens

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, fused filament fabrication (FFF) as a form of additive manufacturing (AM) has become a popular method for the manufacture of prototypes, as well as functional parts. Although many research papers cover the subject of the determination of mechanical properties and characteristics of polymer-based specimens, theoretically and experimentally, there is a lack of research and scientific papers dealing with the problematics of S–N curves based on the fatigue, torsional fatigue and the rotating bending fatigue analysis of those polymer materials. During the AM process, as in the FFF process, polymer undergoes a fundamental phase transformation, changing geometry and mechanical properties. Parts produced using FFF exhibit significant material anisotropy and heterogeneity, which is a fact that cannot be neglected. In addition, there are many parameters that need to be controlled during the FFF process, which makes its analysis very complex. Thus, it is very important to understand the mechanical properties and characteristics of FFF products and specimens based on polymers, since those characteristics are crucial for final product customization and usage.

The object of this Special Issue is to address issues related to the aforementioned problems concerning polymers. Areas to be covered in this Special Issue may include, but are not limited to:

• Torsional, rotational bending fatigue test methods;
• Standard fatigue test methods;
• Tensile and creep testing under different conditions;
• Crack initiation and propagation;
• Surface fracture analysis.

This Special Issue will hopefully contribute to the collaboration of scientists from different fields with interests in polymer materials. Different approaches, i.e., analytical, numerical, and experimental, are encouraged and welcome.

Prof. Dr. Marino Brčić
Guest Editor

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• fatigue
• rotating fatigue
• torsional fatigue
• experimental test
• fused filament fabrication (FFF)
• printed polymer specimens
• tensile test
• creep