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Study on the mechanism and performance of 3D-printed PLA/epoxy composite for stab resistance

Zhe Du (Key Laboratory of Textile Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Donghua University, Shanghai China, and College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai, China)
Changjie Chen (Key Laboratory of Textile Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Donghua University, Shanghai, China; College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai, China and College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou, China)
Xinhou Wang (Key Laboratory of Textile Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Donghua University, Shanghai, China and College of Mechanical Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, China)

Rapid Prototyping Journal

ISSN: 1355-2546

Article publication date: 1 December 2023

Issue publication date: 7 February 2024

92

Abstract

Purpose

Stab-resistant body armor (SRBA) is used to protect the body from sharp knives. However, most SRBA materials currently have the disadvantages of large weight and thickness. This paper aims to prepare lightweight and high-performance SRBA by 3D printing truss structure and resin-filling method.

Design/methodology/approach

The stab resistance truss structure was prepared by the fused deposition modeling method, and the composite structure was formed after filling with resin for dynamic and quasi-static stab tests. The optimized structural plate can meet the standard GA68-2019. Digital image correlation technology was used to analyze the local strain changes during puncture. The puncture failure mode was summarized by the final failure morphologies. The explicit dynamics module in ANSYS Workbench was used to analyze the design of the overlapped structure stab resistance process in this paper.

Findings

The stab resistance performance of the 3D-printed structural plate is affected by the internal filling pattern. The stab resistance performance of 3D-printed structural parts was significantly improved after resin filling. The 50%-diamond-PLA-epoxy, with a thickness of only 5 mm was able to meet the stab resistance standard. Resins are used to increase the strength and hardness of the material but also to increase crack propagation and reduce the toughness of the material. The overlapping semicircular structure was inspired by the exoskeleton structure of the demon iron beetle, which improved the stab resistance between gaps. The truss structure can effectively disperse stress for toughening. The filled resin was reinforced by absorbing impact energy.

Originality/value

The 3D-printed resin-filled truss structure can be used to prepare high-performance stab resistance structural plates, which balance the toughness and strength of the overall structure and ultimately reduce the thickness and weight of the SRBA.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51776034) financially supported this research.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Funding: National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Citation

Du, Z., Chen, C. and Wang, X. (2024), "Study on the mechanism and performance of 3D-printed PLA/epoxy composite for stab resistance", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 30 No. 2, pp. 239-252. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-05-2023-0172

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

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