Investigation of 3D-printed carbon PEEK composites using shearography

In the technological industrial field, it is of great interest to identify efficient and low-cost manufacturing procedures capable of ensuring the required high-quality standards. In this context, additive manufacturing is an innovative, rapid, and cost-effective technique capable of realizing fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composites that are widely applicable in various sectors. 3D printing technology can produce composite materials made by different fibers that can be exploited for manufacturing parts and structures in sectors such as aerospace, automotive or naval. This work shows the use of shearography to characterize the behaviour of thermoplastic systems based on polyether-ether-ether-ketone reinforced with carbon fiber (CFR-PEEK), realized with Fused Filament Fabrication technique and subjected to mechanical stress. Specimens with different stacking sequences were investigated and the Q-isotropic one showed the best behaviour. Shearography (SH) is a full-field and real-time speckle interferometric technique sensitive to displacement gradient and widely used as non-destructive method.