Fracture Behavior of Additively Manufactured Carbon Fiber Reinforced Acrylonitrile-Styrene-Acrylate Containing Cracks and Notches

Within the context of the increasing use of additive manufacturing techniques and the corresponding need to understand the behavior of 3D-printed materials, this paper analyzes the fracture behavior of additively manufactured carbon fiber reinforced (10 wt.%) acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate (ASA) with three different raster orientations (90/0, 45/−45, 30/−60). The analyzed material (ASA-CF10) combines the remarkable resistance to weathering agents typical of ASA with the enhanced mechanical properties resulting from the inclusion of carbon fiber reinforcement. The analysis is performed on single-edge-notched bending (SENB) specimens containing different types of defects, from cracks to U-notches with notch radii of 0.5 mm, 1 mm and 2 mm. When compared to non-reinforced ASA, the fracture resistance is noticeably higher (nearly double) for the reinforced material in all raster orientations. The notch effect, defined as the increase in the fracture resistance when the notch radius increases, is analyzed through the Theory of Critical Distances (TCD), and it is mostly higher in the reinforced material than in the pristine polymer. These observations are supported by Scanning Electron Microscopy analyses.