Mechanical performance of 3D-printed honeycomb structures fabricated from shredded E-glass reinforced polylactic acid composites
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1
Master Program of Mechanical Engineering, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Jalan Syech Abdurrauf No. 7, Darussalam, Banda Aceh 23111, Indonesia
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Darussalam, Banda Aceh 23111, Indonesia
These authors had equal contribution to this work
Corresponding author
Ikramullah Muhammad
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Darussalam, Banda Aceh 23111, Indonesia
Adv. Sci. Technol. Res. J. 2026; 20(12):188-202
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ABSTRACT
This study investigates the effect of incorporating shredded E-glass fibers into polylactic acid (PLA) on the tensile strength, and flexural performance of honeycomb structures fabricated using fused deposition modeling. In addition, the study evaluates the relationship between fiber-reinforced composite materials and honeycomb cell-pitch geometry in determining the mechanical characteristics of the fabricated structures, while assessing the effectiveness of additive manufacturing in producing PLA-based composites. Composite filaments containing PLA and shredded E-glass fibers were manufactured through a twin-screw extrusion process using an 85:15 weight ratio, followed by the fabrication of honeycomb specimens via fused deposition modeling (FDM). Honeycomb structures with cell pitches of 3, 4, and 5 mm were prepared and evaluated through tensile and three-point bending tests in accordance with ASTM D638 and ASTM D790, respectively. The experimental results demonstrate that the shredded E-glass-reinforced PLA composite exhibited mechanical performance comparable to that of commercial PLA reinforced with carbon fiber. In particular, the honeycomb specimen with a 5 mm cell pitch achieved an ultimate tensile strength of 9.01 MPa, which was comparable to the 9.34 MPa obtained by the corresponding PLA/carbon fiber specimen. Furthermore, the 5 mm cell-pitch specimen reinforced with shredded E-glass exhibited superior flexural behavior, achieving a flexural strength of 42.83 MPa and a flexural modulus of 5.18 GPa. These findings demonstrate the potential of shredded E-glass-reinforced PLA manufactured by 3D printing as a composite material with potential cost advantages over carbon-fiber-reinforced PLA for lightweight semi-structural applications under quasi-static loading conditions.