Vidakis Nectarios, Petousis Markos, Tzounis Lazaros, Maniadi Athena, Velidakis Emmanouil, Mountakis Nikolaos, Kechagias John D
Mechanical Engineering Department, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion Crete, Greece;
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece.
Materials (Basel). 2021 Jan 19;14(2):466. doi: 10.3390/ma14020466.
Plastic waste reduction and recycling through circular use has been critical nowadays, since there is an increasing demand for the production of plastic components based on different polymeric matrices in various applications. The most commonly used recycling procedure, especially for thermoplastic materials, is based on thermomechanical process protocols that could significantly alter the polymers' macromolecular structure and physicochemical properties. The study at hand focuses on recycling of polyamide 12 (PA12) filament, through extrusion melting over multiple recycling courses, giving insight for its effect on the mechanical and thermal properties of Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) manufactured specimens throughout the recycling courses. Three-dimensional (3D) FFF printed specimens were produced from virgin as well as recycled PA12 filament, while they have been experimentally tested further for their tensile, flexural, impact and micro-hardness mechanical properties. A thorough thermal and morphological analysis was also performed on all the 3D printed samples. The results of this study demonstrate that PA12 can be successfully recycled for a certain number of courses and could be utilized in 3D printing, while exhibiting improved mechanical properties when compared to virgin material for a certain number of recycling repetitions. From this work, it can be deduced that PA12 can be a viable option for circular use and 3D printing, offering an overall positive impact on recycling, while realizing 3D printed components using recycled filaments with enhanced mechanical and thermal stability.
如今，通过循环利用减少塑料废弃物并进行回收利用至关重要，因为在各种应用中，基于不同聚合物基体生产塑料部件的需求日益增加。最常用的回收方法，特别是对于热塑性材料，是基于热机械加工协议，这可能会显著改变聚合物的大分子结构和物理化学性质。手头的这项研究聚焦于聚酰胺12（PA12）长丝的回收利用，通过在多个回收过程中进行挤出熔融，深入了解其在整个回收过程中对熔融沉积成型（FFF）制造的试样的机械和热性能的影响。三维（3D）FFF打印试样由原始以及回收的PA12长丝制成，同时对其拉伸、弯曲、冲击和显微硬度等机械性能进行了进一步的实验测试。还对所有3D打印样品进行了全面的热分析和形态分析。这项研究的结果表明，PA12可以成功回收一定次数，并可用于3D打印，与原始材料相比，在一定数量的回收重复次数下，其机械性能有所改善。从这项工作可以推断，PA12可以成为循环利用和3D打印的可行选择，对回收利用产生总体积极影响，同时使用具有增强机械和热稳定性的回收长丝实现3D打印部件。
