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Procedia Structural Integrity 37 (2022) 738–745

ICSI 2021 The 4th International Conference on Structural Integrity

ICSI 2021 The 4th International Conference on Structural Integrity
Annealing effect on mechanical properties of 3D printed composites
Annealing effect on mechanical properties ofb 3D printed composites
a
S. Valvez , A.P. Silva , P.N.B. Reis , F. Berto
a c

a
S. Valvez
C-MAST, Department
a
, A.P. Silva
of Electromechanical
a
, P.N.B.
Engineering, Reis
University
b
, F.Interior,
of Beira Berto c
Covilhã, Portugal
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, CEMMPRE, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
c C-MAST,
a
Department
Department of Industrial of Electromechanical
and Mechanical Engineering, Engineering, UniversityofofScience
Norwegian University Beira Interior, Covilhã, Trondheim,
and Technology, Portugal Norway
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, CEMMPRE, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
c
Department of Industrial and Mechanical Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Abstract

Abstract
Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is the most popular additive manufacturing method, with which it is possible to
obtain highly complex three-dimensional parts without wasting materials. In order to improve the mechanical
Fused filament
properties of 3Dfabrication (FFF) is literature
printed materials, the most suggests
popular additive
the thermalmanufacturing method,Therefore,
annealing process. with whichthis it is possible
work aims to
to
obtain highly complex three-dimensional parts without wasting materials. In order to improve
study the effect of thermal annealing on the bending properties of PETG and PETG reinforced with carbon and aramid the mechanical
properties
fibres. For ofthis3Dpurpose,
printed the
materials,
samplesliterature suggests
were printed usingthe thermal annealing
a B2X300 process.
printer, with Therefore,
a hardened this work
steel nozzle aimsmm
of 0.6 to
study the effect of thermal annealing on the bending properties of PETG and PETG reinforced with
diameter, and the printing parameters were optimized for each material. Five specimens were tested according to carbon and aramid
fibres.
ASTM For this purpose,
D790-17 for eachthe samplesThree
condition. were temperatures
printed using(90ºC,
a B2X300
110ºCprinter, with aand
and 130ºC) hardened steel nozzle
three annealing of (30
times 0.6 min,
mm
diameter, and the printing parameters were optimized for each material. Five specimens were tested
240 min and 480 min) were used to study the benefits obtained with the thermal annealing. Finally, the samples were according to
ASTM D790-17 for each condition. Three temperatures (90ºC, 110ºC and 130ºC) and three annealing
evaluated in terms of geometrical parameters, hardness, and flexural properties. Regardless of the materials studied, times (30 min,
240best
the minmechanical
and 480 min) were used
properties to study
were the for
obtained benefits obtained
the highest with the thermal
temperature and the annealing. Finally,time,
longest exposure the samples
but due towere
the
evaluated in terms of geometrical parameters, hardness, and flexural properties. Regardless of
high geometric distortions, a temperature of 90 °C and an exposure of 30 minutes proved to be more effective. the materials studied,
the best mechanical properties were obtained for the highest temperature and the longest exposure time, but due to the
high
© geometric
2022 distortions,
The Authors. Publisheda by
temperature
ELSEVIERofB.V.90 °C and an exposure of 30 minutes proved to be more effective.
This
© 2022is an open access articleby
under the CC
B.V.BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
© 2022The TheAuthors.
Peer-review Authors.Published
Published Elsevier
by
of ELSEVIER B.V.
This is an openunder
accessresponsibility
article under the Pedro
CC Miguel
BY-NC-ND Guimaraes Pires Moreira
license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
Peer-review under responsibility of Pedro Miguel Guimaraes Pires Moreira
Peer-review under responsibility of Pedro Miguel Guimaraes Pires Moreira
Keywords: Fused filament fabrication; Mechanical properties; Thermal annealing.

Keywords: Fused filament fabrication; Mechanical properties; Thermal annealing.

1. Introduction
1. Introduction
Additive manufacturing (AM) is a technique that produces parts, layer by layer, directly from CAD data. Different
from the traditional methods, where material is removed to the desired geometry, additive manufacturing shapes a 3D
Additive
model manufacturing
by adding (AM)
material layer by is a technique
layer. Printingthat produces
parts parts,
with any layer by
geometry andlayer, directlyisfrom
complexity CAD data.
achievable withDifferent
less cost
from the traditional methods, where material is removed to the desired geometry, additive manufacturing shapes a 3D
model by adding material layer by layer. Printing parts with any geometry and complexity is achievable with less cost
2452-3216 © 2022 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
2452-3216
Peer-review©under
2022responsibility
The Authors. ofPublished by ELSEVIER
Pedro Miguel B.V.
Guimaraes Pires Moreira
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
Peer-review under responsibility of Pedro Miguel Guimaraes Pires Moreira

2452-3216 © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
Peer-review under responsibility of Pedro Miguel Guimaraes Pires Moreira
10.1016/j.prostr.2022.02.004
 S. Valvez et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 37 (2022) 738–745 739
2 S. Valvez et al. / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000

and production time than with traditional techniques, Mohamed et al. (2015). Several applications for this technologies
have emerged in the defence and aeronautics industries, Singamneni et al. (2019), automotive sector, improving supply
chain and logistics, biomedical applications, Chen et al. (2016), and production of customized parts. AM does not
require specific tools and material waste is minimal, Ngo et al. (2018).
Nowadays, the fused filament fabrication (FFF), also known as fused deposition modelling (FDM), is one of the
most widely used additive manufacturing (AM) techniques. Created by Stratasys co-founder Scott Crump in 1988,
this technology was commercially available in the late 1990s, Sood et al. (2010). A continuous filament of a
thermoplastic polymer is used to print the desired structure, which is heated at the nozzle to achieve a semi-liquid state
and then extruded onto the platform or on top of the pre-printed layers. For this printing method, the thermo-plasticity
of the raw material is an essential property because it allows the filaments to fuse during printing and then to solidify
at room temperature after printing, Sheoran and Kumar (2020), Mohamed et al. (2015). The simplicity of the process,
printing at high-speed and low cost are the main benefits of this technique (FFF). However, some disadvantages are
also reported in the literature, such as mechanical properties as a function of process parameters, poor surface finish,
appearance of laminated parts and limited raw materials, Mohamed et al. (2015), Stansbury and Idacavage (2016).
According to Mohamed et al. (2015), for example, the main processing parameters that affect the mechanical
properties of printed parts are layer thickness, filament width and orientation and air gap (in the same layer or between
layers). Nevertheless, Sood et al. (2010) reported that the main cause of mechanical weakness is the inter-layer
distortion. Despite the potential for large-scale printing, FFF still remains limited because the part quality and
mechanical properties of additively manufactured parts depend on proper selection of process parameters, Ngo et al.
(2018). The anisotropic behaviour and sensitivity to the choice of process parameters underscore the importance of
selecting process parameters for 3D printed structures, Raney et al. (2017), Letcher et al. (2015), Soury et al. (2013),
Nidagundi et al. (2015), Durgun and Ertan (2014). On the other hand, literature also emphasizes the influence of post-
process annealing on certain mechanical properties, Torres et al. (2015).
In this context, annealing is a post-processing technique used to increase the strength and surface quality of FFF
print parts. It was identified that this post-processing heat treatment increases the interlaminar toughness of polymers,
making their performance better than injection moulding samples, Hart et al. (2018). Furthermore, better mechanical
properties are expected after annealing, Wach et al. (2018). Hong et al. (2019), for example, reported that the flexural
and compressive strengths increased with the annealing treatment of PLA parts. The samples after heat treatment at
130 ºC for 300 s reached a flexural strength 58.3% higher than that of neat PLA, while the compressive strength after
treatment at 140 ºC for 600 s promoted an increase of 39.8%. Bhandari et al. (2019) found that the tensile strength of
PLA and PETG-based composites, both reinforced with short carbon fibers (CF), increased, respectively, two and
three times after annealing treatment. In a similar study, Rangisetty and Peel (2017) studied the effect of annealing
treatment on composites of PLA, ABS and PETG reinforced with CF. Three annealing temperatures (65 ºC, 110 ºC
and 85 ºC, respectively) were used due to the different glass transition temperatures of the matrices. Over a 60-min
period, authors achieved improvements of 16.8%, 3.34% and 12.4%, respectively. Kumar et al. (2021) studied
Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol (PETG) and Carbon Fiber reinforced Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol
(CFPETG) composites printed with different infill densities (25%, 50%, 75% and 100%). Hardness, tensile, impact
and flexural strength were compared before and after annealing for both materials. Regardless of the material, the
highest mechanical properties were obtained for the specimens with 100% infill density submitted to the annealing
treatment. When comparing the effect of the annealing treatment, authors found improvements of 21%, 25%, 23%
and 18% increase in hardness, tensile strength, impact strength and bending strength, respectively, for the CFPETG
samples compared to the PETG samples.
Therefore, from the literature reported above, it is possible to conclude that significant benefits in terms of
mechanical properties are obtained with the annealing treatment. In this context, the main objective of this work is to
study the effect of thermal annealing on the flexural strength and hardness of PETG, carbon fibre reinforced PETG
(CFPETG) and Kevlar fibre reinforced PETG (KFPETG). For this purpose, temperatures of 90 ºC, 110 ºC and 130 ºC
as well as exposure times of 30 min, 240 min and 480 min will be considered. Finally, the mechanical characterization
obtained by the experimental tests will be discussed considering the volumetric changes and the inverse of sample
740 S. Valvez et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 37 (2022) 738–745
S. Valvez et al. / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000 3

curvature radius (1/R) observed in the specimens for the different conditions analysed. Conclusions based on these
considerations will be drawn.

2. Materials and Methods

The B2X300 printer was used to extrude the initial 1.75 mm diameter filament through a 0.6 mm diameter nozzle.
The extruded filament is placed on a platform heated by a print head in a user-defined pattern to achieve the desired
flat shape. Once a particular layer is finished, the print head is raised and continues to deposit the next layer. Using
this equipment and methodology, specimens with dimensions of 85×12.7×4 mm3 were printed.
In terms of materials, Poly(ethylene terephthalate)-Glycol (PETG) is one of the most used materials in 3D printing
technology due to its chemical alkali resistance, transparency, gloss, low haze, good printability, among other benefits.
However, the addition of carbon fibre further expands its field of application because the composite becomes more
resistant and resilient, as well as significantly reducing the risk of warping. In this case, it becomes an excellent choice
for automotive and other industrial applications. On the other hand, when reinforced with aramid fibres, applications
can be extended to sectors where high resistance to friction and impact is expected. Therefore, given the benefits
reported for these materials, PETG, GFPETG and KFPETG were the filaments selected to obtain the specimens used
in this study. Different printing parameters were used and Table 1 shows those that optimized the mechanical
properties of these materials. The direction of deposition angle is according to the x-axis and all samples were printed
with a raster angle of 0°. After printing, the specimens are placed on an aluminium plate coated with a Teflon film, to
avoid any adhesion of the polymer to the aluminium, and the system placed in an oven (Heraus, model UT 6060), for
a certain time and temperature. According to the literature, Bhandari et al. (2019), Table 2 summarizes the temperature
and exposure time studied for all materials.

Table 1. Printing parameters for each material.

Material Extrusion Temperature [ºC] Speed [mm/s] Layer Height [mm] Infill [%]
PETG 265 20 0.4 100
PETG CF 195 60 0.52 100
PETG KV 265 20 0.35 100

Table 2. Annealing conditions for all materials.

Samples Group Temperature [ºC] Time [min]

1 90 30
2 90 240
3 90 480
4 110 30
5 110 240
6 110 480
7 130 30
8 130 240
9 130 480

The bending tests were carried out in accordance with the ASTM D790-17 standard, with a span of 64 mm, in a
Shimadzu universal testing machine, model Autograph AG-X, equipped with a 10 kN load cell. For each condition, 5
specimens were tested at room temperature and at a displacement rate of 2 mm/min. The bending strength was
calculated as the nominal stress at middle span section and using the maximum load value, according to the following
equation:
 S. Valvez et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 37 (2022) 738–745 741
4 S. Valvez et al. / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000

3 𝑃𝑃 𝐿𝐿
𝜎𝜎 = (1)
2 𝑏𝑏 ℎ2
where P is the load, L the span length, b the width and h the thickness of the specimen.
The hardness was evaluated at room temperature by micro-indentation using an HMV-G SHIMADZU tester,
applying a load of 98.07 mN (HV 0.01) for 15 seconds.
The volume variation of the specimen was evaluated with at least four measurements along its length and 10
measurements along its width and thickness. Finally, the radius of curvature (R) of the specimens, resulting from the
effect of temperature, was evaluated using a Mitutoyo PJ-P1010A profile projector. According to Figure 1, the
variables d and c were obtained using this equipment, while the radius (R) was calculated using equation (2):

Fig. 1. Scheme used to determine the radius of curvature (R).

𝑐𝑐 2 + 4𝑑𝑑2
𝑅𝑅 = (2)
8𝑑𝑑
The inverse radius of curvature (1/R) was used to compare the effect of the annealing treatment on the final
geometry of the samples.

3. Results and Discussion

Figure 2 shows the general appearance of the specimens after being submitted to the annealing treatment. It is
possible to observe that there were some geometric alterations of the specimens, which will be analyzed in detail.

a) b) c)
Fig. 2. General appearance of the annealed samples for the different materials: a) PETG; b) CFPETG; c) KFPETG.

As shown in the previous figure, after the annealing heat treatment, the specimens changed their configurations
and geometric dimensions. To assess the dimensional changes, Table 3 presents the mean values in terms of volumetry
(change of dimensions along the x, y and z axes) and respective standard deviation for all materials and test conditions.
Regarding the radius of curvature (R) observed for each material and specific condition, Table 4 presents this
information in terms of inverse radius of curvature (1/R) to compare the effect of the annealing treatment on the final
geometry of the samples. Both conditions prove to be decisive for design considerations because, in addition to
guaranteeing the load carrying capacity, any component must guarantee that its dimension and geometry are kept
within very tight tolerances.
742 S. Valvez et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 37 (2022) 738–745
S. Valvez et al. / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000 5

From Table 3, and regardless of the material, it is possible to observe that the exposure to temperature changes the
dimensions of the samples and the exposure time has a significant effect on this variation. For example, considering
the samples produced with PETG, the highest (+5.9%) and lowest (-2.4x10-5%) values of volume variation were
observed for samples submitted to 130 ºC for 30 min and 240 min, respectively. Positive variations mean that the
specimens have increased in size, while negative ones indicate that the specimens shrink.

Table 3. Volume variation after the annealing heat treatment.

PETG CFPETG KFPETG

Samples
Group Average SD Variation Average SD Variation Average SD Variation
[mm3] [mm3] [%] [mm3] [mm3] [%] [mm3] [mm3] [%]
Control 4171 38.7 - 4575.0 21.9 - 4513.3 47.1 -
1 4271.4 50.3 +2.4 4732.8 38.6 +3.4 4689.5 159.0 +3.9
2 4260.9 25.5 +2.2 4636.7 37.9 +1.3 4565.3 52.4 +1.2
3 4295.4 35.0 +3.0 4594.6 103.3 +0.4 4715.8 47.6 +4.5
4 4313.8 46.4 +3.4 4761.9 49.4 +4.1 4614.6 71.8 +2.2
5 4170.9 35.6 -2.4x10-5 4476.8 5.2 -2.1 4460.2 55.8 -1.2
6 4175.2 93.2 +0.1 4479.6 34.4 -2.1 4507.8 60.8 -0.1
7 4416.9 34.5 +5.9 4445.1 22.3 -2.8 4604.1 118.1 +2.0
8 3998.2 45.1 -4.1 4427.9 74.4 -3.2 4711.7 56.7 +4.4
9 4048.1 62.0 -2.9 4296.1 29.0 -6.1 4642.4 66.4 +2.9

Table 4. Inverse radius of curvature (1/R) after the annealing heat treatment.

PETG CFPETG KFPETG

Samples Group
Average [mm] SD [mm] Average [mm] SD [mm] Average [mm] SD [mm]
Control 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 4.3×10 -6
8.7×10 -6
0 0 0 0
4 7.9×10-6 8.2×10-6 0 0 1.1×10-3 1.5×10-5
5 1.3×10-6 1.4×10-6 0 0 1.4×10-3 2.9×10-5
6 1.5×10-4 1.2×10-5 0 0 1.7×10-3 3.7×10-5
7 1.8×10 -6
1.9×10 -5
0 0 1.8×10 -3
1.5×10-5
8 2.1×10-6 1.8×10-5 5.1×10-6 1.7×10-5 2.1×10-3 2.7×10-5
9 3.5×10 -6
4.8×10 -5
2.3×10 -5
2.1×10 -5
2.7×10 -3
1.5×10-5

Regarding the CFPETG material, the highest (-6.1%) and lowest (+0.4%) values of volume variation were
observed for samples submitted to 130 ºC for 480 min and 90 ºC for 480 min, respectively. Finally, for KFPETG, the
highest (+4.5%) and lowest (-0.1%) values of volume variation were observed for samples submitted to 90 ºC for 480
min and 110 ºC for 480 min, respectively. In this case, it is possible to notice that the inclusion of fibres into the matrix
does not have a significant influence on the variation of the dimensions because, basically, all samples presented
variation in volumetry. The same is not true for the inverse radius of curvature. For example, when the carbon fibres
were added to the PETG only for the highest temperature (130 ºC) and longer exposure times (240 min and 480 min)
the incurvature was noted. Regarding the Kevlar fibres, this evidence was only perceived for the temperatures of 110
ºC and 130 ºC and regardless the exposure time. Finally, considering only the polymer (PETG), the specimens
remained straight only at the temperature of 90 °C and exposure times of 30 min and 240 min. In this context, it should
be noted the fact that design considerations that do not allow changes in shape (keep its straightness) the annealing
 S. Valvez et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 37 (2022) 738–745 743
6 S. Valvez et al. / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000

treatment must be carried out for a maximum temperature of 90 ºC and a maximum exposure time of 240 min. On the
other hand, for 4D applications these parameters must be considered and with values higher than those mentioned
above. However, these values must be selected depending on the desired application.
In terms of hardness, Table 5 shows the values obtained for the different materials and test conditions studied.

Table 5. The effect of annealing treatment on the hardness.

Samples PETG CFPETG KFPETG

Group Average SD Variation Average SD Variation Average SD Variation
[MPa] [MPa] [%] [MPa] [MPa] [%] [MPa] [MPa] [%]
Control 9.8 0.3 - 11.7 0.8 - 11.7 0.9
1 11.2 0.4 13.4 12.4 0.7 5.6 11.9 1.2 1.3
2 10.4 0.8 5.3 12.8 1.0 9.2 12.0 0.9 2.3
3 10.7 0.3 8.4 13.4 0.5 14.3 12.2 1.0 3.8
4 11.7 0.5 19.2 12.5 0.9 7.1 12.5 0.4 6.4
5 10.3 0.3 4.8 12.9 0.5 10.1 12.9 0.8 10.5
6 10.5 0.5 7.2 14.0 1.2 19.6 13.1 0.9 11.7
7 10.8 0.5 9.9 12.3 0.9 4.9 13.4 1.2 14.8
8 10. 8 0.2 9.3 13.0 0.9 11.2 14.1 0.6 20.2
9 11.0 0.3 11.9 14.8 0.9 26.1 14.2 0.7 21.6

It is possible to observe that, for composite materials, hardness increases with increasing temperature and exposure
time. For example, considering the samples produced with CFPETG and an exposure time of 480 min, the hardness
increases 14.5%, 19.7% and 26.5% for temperatures of 90 ºC, 110 ºC and 130 ºC and when compared with the control
samples (without annealing treatment), respectively. For KFPETG, these values are 4.3%, 12% and 21.4%,
respectively. However, keeping the temperature constant for values of 110 ºC, the hardness increased for the CFPETG
material around 3.2% and 12% after 240 min and 480 min of exposure time and in relation to the value obtained with
30 min of exposure. In relation to the KFPETG material, these values are, respectively, 3.2% and 4.8% higher than
the value obtained with 30 min of exposure. Finally, in terms of PETG, the hardness increases, but with less expressive
values.
Lastly, the values obtained in the bending tests are presented in Table 6 in terms of flexural strength and in Table
7 in terms of flexural modulus.

Table 6. The effect of the annealing treatment on the bending stress.

PETG CFPETG KFPETG
Samples
Group Average SD Variation Average SD Variation Average SD Variation
[MPa] [MPa] [%] [MPa] [MPa] [%] [MPa] [MPa] [%]
Control 66.9 1.4 - 79.2 1.0 - 47.7 1.0 -
1 72.6 0.8 8.4 78.3 1.0 -1.2 48.6 1.5 1.8
2 70.7 0.9 5.6 79.8 3.3 0.7 50.1 1.7 4.9
3 68.9 1.2 2.9 81.9 1.8 3.4 51.0 1.8 6.9
4 73.4 1.0 9.7 76.7 1.3 -3.2 49.6 1.0 4.0
5 71.3 1.2 6.6 76.5 3.0 -3.5 52.2 1.3 9.3
6 68.5 3.1 2.4 86.0 2.6 8.5 52.5 3.2 10.1
7 73.7 3.5 10.2 83.7 2.3 5.6 50.5 2.2 5. 9
8 71.9 1.0 7.5 97.2 3.3 22.7 52.8 1.6 10.7
9 68.0 1.8 1.6 104.4 3.3 31.8 53.0 1.5 11.1
744 S. Valvez et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 37 (2022) 738–745
S. Valvez et al. / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000 7

In terms of flexural strength (Table 6), it is possible to observe different effects of the annealing treatment on this
mechanical property. For PETG, for example, increasing the temperature increases the bending strength, but for all
temperatures, when they remain constant and the exposure time increases, the bending strength decreases. In this case,

Table 7. The effect of the annealing treatment on the bending modulus.

Samples PETG CFPETG KFPETG

Group Average SD Variation Average SD Variation Average SD Variation
[MPa] [MPa] [%] [MPa] [MPa] [%] [MPa] [MPa] [%]
Control 1.7 0.02 3.6 0.2 1.5 0.03
1 2.0 0.06 17.6 4.4 0.2 23.0 1.8 0.09 20.2
2 1.9 0.04 11.8 4.7 0.2 32.0 2.5 0.09 62.6
3 1.9 0.08 11.8 4.6 0.5 29.0 2.1 0.05 36.3
4 1.8 0.07 5.9 4.5 0.1 25.3 1.9 0.18 25.7
5 1.8 0.03 5.9 4.4 0.2 22.6 2.1 0.06 38.9
6 1.8 0.1 5.9 5.1 0.1 43.9 2.1 0.07 34.1
7 2.0 0.05 17.6 4.9 0.07 39.0 1.8 0.09 20.1
8 1.9 0.08 11.8 5.4 0.2 51.1 2.2 0.03 46.7
9 1.8 0.07 5.9 5.8 0.2 61.1 2.2 0.03 46.7

the increase in exposure time is negative for this mechanical property and the ideal values are up to 30 minutes of
exposure. Regardless of temperature, an annealing treatment of 30 min only produces improvements around 10%
higher than those seen in control samples. However, the benefits achieved are strongly counterbalanced by the
geometric and dimensional changes, which were conveniently reported earlier. A similar analysis can be obtained
from Table 7 for the PETG flexural modulus. Regarding the CFPETG composite, increasing both the temperature and
exposure time promotes improvements in terms of bending strength and modulus. In this case, it is possible to achieve
improvements around 31.8% higher than the value observed for control specimens, at level of bending strength, and
61.1%, at level of bending modulus, for an annealing treatment at 130 °C during 480 min of exposure. For the
KFPETG composite, the same comments describe the trend observed in Tables 6 and 7, but with different values
(11.1% and 46.7%, respectively). However, as mentioned above, this annealing treatment has a very destabilizing
effect on the dimensional and geometric stability for both materials.

4. Conclusions

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) proves to be one of the most attractive 3D printing technologies due to its low
cost, simplicity, and high-speed processing. However, some disadvantages still affect the implementation of this
technique in the most diverse sectors. The mechanical performance of these materials can, for example, be
compromised due to a poor interfacial adhesion between the printed layers and, consequently, restrict the use of this
technology for secondary structures. According to the literature, the use of annealing treatments can be a solution to
get around this problem. In this context, the present study showed that annealing heat treatment can be a solution to
improve the mechanical properties of PETG and PETG-based composites. It was noted that both the increase in
temperature and exposure time promote a significant increase in flexural strength and modulus, reaching, respectively,
values higher than those of control specimens around 31.8% and 61.1% for CFPETG composites and around 11.1%
and 46.7% for KFPETG composites. However, the annealing treatment promotes geometric distortions and
significantly affects the dimensional stability of the parts. Therefore, for design considerations that require
dimensional and geometric stability, annealing treatments should be limited to a predetermined temperature and
exposure time that are heavily dependent on the material used. On the other hand, this study showed benefits for 4D
applications.
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8 S. Valvez et al. / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000

5. Acknowledgements

This study was sponsored by national funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, under the
project UIDB/00285/2020. This study was also supported by the project Centro-01-0145-FEDER-000017—
EMaDeS—Energy, Materials and Sustainable Development, co-financed by the Portugal 2020 Program (PT 2020),
within the Regional Operational Program of the Centre (CENTRO 2020) and the European Union through the
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

6. References
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