Abstract
Reported on in depth for the first time herein is the influence of the diverse nanostructures of acrylonitrile
butadiene styrene (ABS)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on its chemical, physical and electrical
properties after laser cutting. Injection moulding was used to fabricate the nanocomposite samples in various
structures with a thickness of 3 mm by adjusting temperature and pressure. The samples’ nanostructures were
evaluated prior to cutting with a CO2 laser. Design of experiments (DoE) by a full-factorial method used three
levels laser power 45, 55 and 65 W) and the cutting velocity at three levels (4, 8 and 12 mm/s) as independent
variables. The findings from this work are significant and support new theories. It was revealed different surface
damage modes such as shrink holes, cracks, decomposed smithereens and sink marks. These were affected by the
laser energy density criterion which means that the ratio of power to cutting velocity was the governing factor,
whilst the effect of primary nanostructures was negligible. Unlike surface damage, the width of heat affected
zone (HAZ) was found to depend on the thermal conductivity, which directly relates to the samples’ nanostructure.
Minimum HAZ was obtained at 0.45 mm for the sample with maximum thermal conductivity equal to
0.23 W/mK. Analysis of the post-laser cut surface and HAZ indicated that the MWCNTs were well dispersed with
higher orientation and degrees of distribution. This, naturally, allows the inference that application of low laser
energy density accounted for and governed oxidation of these regions. The results show that the nanotexture of
the post-laser cut surface is completely changed in comparison with the as-moulded surface, leading to the lowest
reduction in surface electrical resistivity to 3.2 kΩ for the sample produced at a temperature of 220 ◦C and a
holding pressure of 70 bar.
butadiene styrene (ABS)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on its chemical, physical and electrical
properties after laser cutting. Injection moulding was used to fabricate the nanocomposite samples in various
structures with a thickness of 3 mm by adjusting temperature and pressure. The samples’ nanostructures were
evaluated prior to cutting with a CO2 laser. Design of experiments (DoE) by a full-factorial method used three
levels laser power 45, 55 and 65 W) and the cutting velocity at three levels (4, 8 and 12 mm/s) as independent
variables. The findings from this work are significant and support new theories. It was revealed different surface
damage modes such as shrink holes, cracks, decomposed smithereens and sink marks. These were affected by the
laser energy density criterion which means that the ratio of power to cutting velocity was the governing factor,
whilst the effect of primary nanostructures was negligible. Unlike surface damage, the width of heat affected
zone (HAZ) was found to depend on the thermal conductivity, which directly relates to the samples’ nanostructure.
Minimum HAZ was obtained at 0.45 mm for the sample with maximum thermal conductivity equal to
0.23 W/mK. Analysis of the post-laser cut surface and HAZ indicated that the MWCNTs were well dispersed with
higher orientation and degrees of distribution. This, naturally, allows the inference that application of low laser
energy density accounted for and governed oxidation of these regions. The results show that the nanotexture of
the post-laser cut surface is completely changed in comparison with the as-moulded surface, leading to the lowest
reduction in surface electrical resistivity to 3.2 kΩ for the sample produced at a temperature of 220 ◦C and a
holding pressure of 70 bar.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 108973 |
| Journal | Optics and Laser Technology |
| Volume | 160 |
| Early online date | 23 Dec 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 May 2023 |
Keywords
- CO2 laser
- Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)
- Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)
- laser cutting
- nanostructure
- chemical properties