Mechanical characterisation of Wood-PLA composite materials fabricated by fused deposition modelling under water conditioning

Xu, Weilong

Mechanical characterisation of Wood-PLA composite materials fabricated by fused deposition modelling under water conditioning

Xu, Weilong

Permalink

Publication Type:: Thesis
Issue Date:: 2025

Open Access

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Open Access

This item is open access.

Adobe PDF

Download thesisAdobe PDF (7.23 MB)

View statistics

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Xu, Weilong
dc.date.accessioned	2026-04-20T04:33:59Z
dc.date.available	2026-04-20T04:33:59Z
dc.date.issued	2025
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194769
dc.description	University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.description.abstract	Natural fibre-reinforced composites are gaining attention for their sustainability, particularly in additive manufacturing with Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM). However, the effect of natural fibre content on mechanical performance and moisture absorption on material integrity remains poorly understood. This thesis investigates the mechanical properties of pure PLA and wood-PLA composites under various conditions. Firstly, the mechanical performance of pure PLA and wood-PLA filaments in their unconditioned state was assessed. Tensile and single-edge notched bending (SENB) tests showed that adding wood fibre reduced tensile strength but enhanced energy absorption due to changes in fracture mechanisms, providing insight into fibre’s effect on failure behaviour. Secondly, the impact of water immersion and redrying on the composites was examined. Significant differences in strength, stiffness, and energy absorption were observed, with moisture uptake inducing reversible plasticisation, offering mechanical properties changes of wood-PLA composites in humid environments. Finally, wood-PLA filaments with varying fibre content were produced via melt-extrusion blending. These filaments were used to fabricate tensile specimens to investigate how fibre content influences mechanical performance in dry and moisture-conditioned states. The results demonstrated the correlation between fibre content, strength, energy absorption, and the extent of water-induced plasticisation. This research contributes to sustainable FDM composites for engineering applications.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.format	Thesis (ME)
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US.UTF-8
dc.relation	https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/194769/1/thesis.pdf
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	The author owns the copyright in this thesis including all reproduction and reuse rights for the work. The work may not be altered without the permission of the copyright owner. Attribution is essential when quoting or paraphrasing from this thesis.
dc.rights	© 2025 Weilong Xu
dc.rights	au.edu.uts.lib/cph
dc.title	Mechanical characterisation of Wood-PLA composite materials fabricated by fused deposition modelling under water conditioning	en_US.UTF-8
dc.type	Thesis
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*

Abstract:

Natural fibre-reinforced composites are gaining attention for their sustainability, particularly in additive manufacturing with Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM). However, the effect of natural fibre content on mechanical performance and moisture absorption on material integrity remains poorly understood. This thesis investigates the mechanical properties of pure PLA and wood-PLA composites under various conditions. Firstly, the mechanical performance of pure PLA and wood-PLA filaments in their unconditioned state was assessed. Tensile and single-edge notched bending (SENB) tests showed that adding wood fibre reduced tensile strength but enhanced energy absorption due to changes in fracture mechanisms, providing insight into fibre’s effect on failure behaviour. Secondly, the impact of water immersion and redrying on the composites was examined. Significant differences in strength, stiffness, and energy absorption were observed, with moisture uptake inducing reversible plasticisation, offering mechanical properties changes of wood-PLA composites in humid environments. Finally, wood-PLA filaments with varying fibre content were produced via melt-extrusion blending. These filaments were used to fabricate tensile specimens to investigate how fibre content influences mechanical performance in dry and moisture-conditioned states. The results demonstrated the correlation between fibre content, strength, energy absorption, and the extent of water-induced plasticisation. This research contributes to sustainable FDM composites for engineering applications.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194769