A Systematic Study on Mechanical Properties of CNT Reinforced HDPE Composites Developed Using 3D Printing

Several extensive researches are being carried out in the field of 3D printing. Polymer matrices, such as High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), are less explored particularly on the microstructure and mechanical properties of HDPE composites developed via the Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) process. Very scarce amount of work is devoted to studying HDPE’s reinforced with carbon nano-tubes (CNT’s). In the present work, we report on the mechanical properties of HDPE composites prepared via the FDM process. Varying proportions of CNTs (0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2%) are used as reinforcements. It is found that increasing CNT content enhances impact and tensile strength, with HDPE/2.0%CNT outperforming pure HDPE by approximately 71.6% and 25.4%, respectively. HDPE/2.0%CNT composite also showed Young s modulus approximately 49.2% higher than pure HDPE. According to fracture analysis, pure HDPE failed near ductile, whereas composites failed brittle. CNTs occupy the free positions in the polymeric chains, and their tendency to restrict chain mobility causes HDPE to lose ductility and begin to behave brittlely. The use of CNTs as reinforcement successfully improved the mechanical properties of HDPE.