Improvement of the mechanical characteristics of large-scale extruded components through temperature field modification
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Large-scale additive manufacturing processes using material extrusion are increasingly being used in the field of small series and prototype construction. As a result of the thermal energy remaining in the material, processes occur at the microstructural level that can significantly influence the component properties, such as strength and stiffness of the final part. Heating and cooling elements are already being used to modify the processes at the microstructural level of semi-crystalline thermoplastics such as polyamide 6 during the ongoing process. In this work, an existing FE model is extended and presented with the representation of these cooling and heating elements for the prediction and description of material effects in the component to be manufactured. The simulation model results are evaluated for analysing the processes taking place at material level. . Among them, crystallisation and diffusion processes of the molecular chains of inter- and intralaminar deposited extrudate strands are investigated and described in detail. As a result, it can be stated that the use of additional peripherals modifies the thermal budget in the component, changing the associated effects at material level, variating for example the degree of crystallisation in the polymer as well as the degree of molecular chain diffusion between two extrudate strands. The degree of variation is influenced by combination and function of the selected peripherals as well as various process factors, such as the distance between the heating and cooling elements and the selected applied temperature.