Speaker
Description
Abstract
Additive manufacturing has attracted increasing attention as a versatile production technology for manufacturing lightweight, complex, and customized polymeric components. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is one of the most widely used materials in fused filament fabrication because of its ease of processing, relatively low melting temperature, and bio-based origin. However, its inherent flammability limits its use in applications requiring improved fire safety. The development of halogen-free flame-retardant PLA systems, particularly through the incorporation of functional and potentially sustainable carbon-based additives, is therefore of growing interest.
This work focuses on the development of halogen-free flame-retardant PLA filaments for fused filament fabrication using aluminum hypophosphite (AHP) as the primary flame-retardant additive and biochar as a secondary functional additive. The effects of AHP concentration, biochar incorporation, and printed part density on the thermal and combustion behavior of the resulting materials were investigated. PLA filaments with varying AHP concentrations were prepared, and a biochar-containing formulation with a comparable total additive content was also considered. The prepared filaments were processed by fused filament fabrication at different infill densities ranging from 25% to 100%. The printed specimens were characterized for thermal degradation, limiting oxygen index, vertical burning behavior, and heat release characteristics.
The results demonstrated that AHP effectively improved the flame-retardant performance of PLA by promoting char formation and reducing heat release during combustion. The incorporation of biochar further influenced the thermal and combustion behavior of the PLA-based system, indicating its potential to contribute to the development of more sustainable flame-retardant materials. The results also highlighted the significant role of infill density in determining the fire response of printed structures, demonstrating that both material composition and internal structural architecture should be considered when designing flame-retardant components for additive manufacturing. Overall, the findings indicate that the combined consideration of flame-retardant additives, sustainable carbon-based materials, and printing parameters can provide an effective approach for developing safer PLA-based materials for additive manufacturing.
Keywords: Biochar, 3D printing, flame retardant, halogen-free, infill density, Poly (lactic acid).
Acknowledgments: We would like to thank Erciyes University Scientific Research Projects Unit for financially supporting our study with the project code FBAÜ-2025-14299. We would like to thank Erciyes University Research Deanship for providing the necessary infrastructure and laboratory facilities in the ArGePark research building in the conduct of our study.
| Conference Topics | Polymer-based materials – Sustainability and Circularity |
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