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Polymers
Special Issues
Design and Sustainability: Polymer Composites via Additive Manufacturing
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Design and Sustainability: Polymer Composites via Additive Manufacturing

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Processing and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 July 2025 | Viewed by 4970

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yesong Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212000, China
Interests: continuous fiber; additive manufacturing; composite material; mechanical properties; process optimization; failure analysis
Dr. Zhongsen Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China
Interests: interfacial bonding; mechanical behavior; manufacturing; nanocomposites; interlaminar toughening; failure analysis; 3D printing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Kunkun Fu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China
Interests: advanced materials; mechanics of materials; composite material; applied mechanics; finite element analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Wei Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: additive manufacturing; process optimization; modeling and simulation; reliability analysis; failure analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymer composites have received extensive attention from the automotive, aerospace, biomedical, sports and civil engineering industries. The intersection between additive manufacturing (AM) and composites has led to the development of lightweight materials and structures, thereby playing a pivotal role in sustainability. This convergence is increasingly utilized to fabricate structural composites that not only exhibit superior mechanical properties, but also introduce innovative features. This Special Issue aims to gather original research and review papers on the latest advancements in the additive manufacturing of polymer composites; the scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, mathematical/physical modelling, the design and analysis of composite structures, novel experimental and manufacturing methods, and the exploration of applications in lightweighting, multifunctionality, energy efficiency, and sustainability. Contributions focusing on material innovation/design and experimental aspects of AM composite materials are also welcome.

Dr. Yesong Wang
Dr. Zhongsen Zhang
Prof. Dr. Kunkun Fu
Prof. Dr. Wei Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • additive manufacturing
  • 3D printing
  • polymer composites
  • short-fiber composites
  • continuous-fiber composites
  • mechanical behavior
  • modeling and simulation
  • failure mode

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2935 KiB  
Article
Effect of Fiber Content on the Preparation and Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Short Carbon Fiber Reinforced PA Composites
by Yesong Wang, Feilong Li, Zixuan Sun, Chenyu Gu, Kunkun Fu and Xiangming Zhao
Polymers 2025, 17(5), 671; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17050671 - 2 Mar 2025
Viewed by 557
Abstract
3D-printed short-carbon-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites have attracted significant attention from both the academic and industrial communities due to their remarkable advantages such as lightweight, high strength, and recyclability. However, in most of the current 3D-printing-related nylon composites, the content of short carbon fibers is [...] Read more.
3D-printed short-carbon-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites have attracted significant attention from both the academic and industrial communities due to their remarkable advantages such as lightweight, high strength, and recyclability. However, in most of the current 3D-printing-related nylon composites, the content of short carbon fibers is generally low, and the influence laws of short carbon fibers on the mechanical properties of the composites have not been fully explored. This paper focuses on short-carbon-fiber-reinforced nylon (SCF/PA) composites with short-carbon-fiber contents of 15 wt%, 25 wt%, and 35 wt%, respectively. It studies in depth their mechanical properties and related characteristics. The research results show that with the increase in the short-carbon-fiber content, the melt flow rate of the SCF/PA composites shows a downward trend. In terms of mechanical properties, when the short-carbon-fiber content is 25 wt%, the tensile strength and flexural strength of the composite reach their maximum values, which are 101.43 MPa and 173.16 MPa, respectively. Compared with pure nylon, the improvement ranges are 17.01% and 21.4%, respectively. When the short-carbon-fiber content is 35 wt%, the impact resistance of the material reaches its optimal value, which is 6.02 KJ/m2, an increase of 38.1% compared with pure nylon. At the same time, when the short-carbon-fiber content is 35 wt%, the thermal deformation temperature of the material also shows a certain degree of slight increase. In summary, the research results of this paper will provide more abundant and detailed experimental data support for 3D-printed short-carbon-fiber-reinforced nylon composites in various different application scenarios, facilitating further exploration and application in related fields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Sustainability: Polymer Composites via Additive Manufacturing)
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19 pages, 5397 KiB  
Article
Novel Processes for the Production of Continuous Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastic Polymers via Additive Manufacturing and Comparisons
by Simon Zeidler, Nikolas Matkovic, Florian Kößler, Alexander Puchta and Jürgen Fleischer
Polymers 2025, 17(5), 584; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17050584 - 22 Feb 2025
Viewed by 485
Abstract
Continuous fiber-reinforced polymer (CoFRP) parts offer significant potential for reducing future product consumption and CO2 emissions due to their high tensile properties and low density. Additive manufacturing enables the tool-free production of complex geometries with optimal material utilization, making it a promising [...] Read more.
Continuous fiber-reinforced polymer (CoFRP) parts offer significant potential for reducing future product consumption and CO2 emissions due to their high tensile properties and low density. Additive manufacturing enables the tool-free production of complex geometries with optimal material utilization, making it a promising approach for creating load-path-optimized CoFRP parts. Recent advancements have integrated continuous fibers into laser sintering processes, allowing for the support-free production of complex parts with improved material properties. However, additive manufacturing faces challenges such as long production times, small component dimensions, and defects like high void content. New processes, including Arburg Polymer Freeforming (APF), robotic direct extrusion (DES) and the integration of thermoplastic tapes, and laser sintering, have enabled the production of CoFRPs to address these issues. A comparison of these new processes with existing material extrusion methods is necessary to determine the most suitable approach for specific tasks. The fulfillment factor is used to compare composites with different matrix and fiber materials, representing the percentage of experimentally achieved material properties relative to the theoretical maximum according to the Voigt model. The fulfillment factor varies significantly across different processes and materials. For FFF processes, the fulfillment factor ranges from 20% to 77% for stiffness and 14% to 84% for strength, with an average of 52% and 37%, respectively. APF shows a high fulfillment factor for stiffness (94%) but is lower for strength (23%), attributed to poor fiber–matrix bonding and process-induced pores. The new DES process improves the fulfillment factor due to additional consolidation steps, achieving above-average values for strength (67%). The CoFRP produced by the novel LS process also shows a high fulfillment factor for stiffness (85%) and an average fulfillment factor for strength (39%), influenced by suboptimal process parameters and defects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Sustainability: Polymer Composites via Additive Manufacturing)
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15 pages, 8817 KiB  
Article
Effects of Process Parameters on the Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of Additively Manufactured Carbon Black Particles-Reinforced Thermoplastic Polyurethane Composite Samples
by Fatima Hira, Muhammad Asif, Hammad Ullah, Imran Khan, Ghulam Hussain, Muhammad Amir and Mohammed Alkahtani
Polymers 2025, 17(3), 426; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17030426 - 6 Feb 2025
Viewed by 628
Abstract
Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques make fabricating complex designs, prototypes, and end-user products possible. Conductive polymer composites find applications in flexible electronics, sensor fabrication, and electrical circuits. In this study, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)-based conductive polymer composite samples were fabricated via fused filament fabrication (FFF). [...] Read more.
Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques make fabricating complex designs, prototypes, and end-user products possible. Conductive polymer composites find applications in flexible electronics, sensor fabrication, and electrical circuits. In this study, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)-based conductive polymer composite samples were fabricated via fused filament fabrication (FFF). The effects of three important process parameters, including infill density (ID), layer thickness (LT), and fan speed (FS), on various mechanical properties (tensile and compressive properties) were investigated. It was observed that all the considered process parameters affect the mechanical properties, and they are significant parameters, as per the analysis of variance (ANOVA). From scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy, various combinations of parameters such as low ID, high LT, and high FS resulted in the formation of defects such as voids, cracks, and warping, which resulted in low mechanical properties. Finally, process parameter optimization was performed, resulting in a conductive polymer composite with the best possible combination of mechanical properties at high ID, low LT, and medium FS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Sustainability: Polymer Composites via Additive Manufacturing)
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11 pages, 2299 KiB  
Article
Carbon Fiber-Reinforced PLA Composite for Fused Deposition Modeling 3D Printing
by Andong Wang, Xinting Tang, Yongxian Zeng, Lei Zou, Fan Bai and Caifeng Chen
Polymers 2024, 16(15), 2135; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16152135 - 26 Jul 2024
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2479
Abstract
Polylactic acid (PLA) composite serve as widely used filaments in fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing. This study investigates the enhancement of PLA composite’s comprehensive mechanical properties and thermal stability through the incorporation of carbon fiber (CF). The influence of FDM process parameters [...] Read more.
Polylactic acid (PLA) composite serve as widely used filaments in fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing. This study investigates the enhancement of PLA composite’s comprehensive mechanical properties and thermal stability through the incorporation of carbon fiber (CF). The influence of FDM process parameters on the mechanical properties of PLA composite is also analyzed. Results show that adding 5 wt.% CF significantly enhances the stiffness and comprehensive mechanical properties of PLA composite. The order of printing factors affecting the tensile strength of the PLA composite product is as follows: printing layer thickness, bottom plate temperature, printing speed, and nozzle temperature. Finally, optimal tensile strength is achieved under specific conditions: 0.1 mm layer thickness, 60 °C bottom plate temperature, 40 mm/s printing speed, and 215 °C nozzle temperature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Sustainability: Polymer Composites via Additive Manufacturing)
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