Printability Metrics and Engineering Response of HDPE/Si<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Nanocomposites in MEX Additive Manufacturing
Vassilis M. Papadakis,
Markos Petousis,
Nikolaos Michailidis,
Maria Spyridaki,
Ioannis Valsamos,
Apostolos Argyros,
Katerina Gkagkanatsiou,
Amalia Moutsopoulou,
Nectarios Vidakis
Affiliations
Vassilis M. Papadakis
Department of Industrial Design and Production Engineering, University of West Attica, 122 43 Athens, Greece
Markos Petousis
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
Nikolaos Michailidis
Physical Metallurgy Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Department, School of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Maria Spyridaki
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
Ioannis Valsamos
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
Apostolos Argyros
Physical Metallurgy Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Department, School of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Katerina Gkagkanatsiou
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
Amalia Moutsopoulou
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
Nectarios Vidakis
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
Herein, silicon nitride (Si3N4) was the selected additive to be examined for its reinforcing properties on high-density polyethylene (HDPE) by exploiting techniques of the popular material extrusion (MEX) 3D printing method. Six different HDPE/Si3N4 composites with filler percentages ranging between 0.0–10.0 wt. %, having a 2.0 step, were produced initially in compounds, then in filaments, and later in the form of specimens, to be examined by a series of tests. Thermal, rheological, mechanical, structural, and morphological analyses were also performed. For comprehensive mechanical characterization, tensile, flexural, microhardness (M-H), and Charpy impacts were included. Scanning electron microscopy (SME) was used for morphological assessments and microcomputed tomography (μ-CT). Raman spectroscopy was conducted, and the elemental composition was assessed using energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The HDPE/Si3N4 composite with 6.0 wt. % was the one with an enhancing performance higher than the rest of the composites, in the majority of the mechanical metrics (more than 20% in the tensile and flexural experiment), showing a strong potential for Si3N4 as a reinforcement additive in 3D printing. This method can be easily industrialized by further exploiting the MEX 3D printing method.
