Air Jet Erosion Behavior of FDM‐Printed PLA Composites Reinforced With Steel Powder Fillers

ABSTRACT This paper reports the air jet erosion behavior of FDM‐printed polylactic acid (PLA) composites reinforced with 5 wt% and 10 wt% steel powder for solving the problem of the development of durable, sustainable, and high‐performance materials for engineering applications. Test specimens were fabricated by fused deposition method with uniform dispersion of steel particles based on a twin‐screw extrusion and were tested using ASTM G76 air jet erosion with angular Al 2 O 3 particles as erodent at impact angles of 30°, 60°, and 90°. For the material loss, pure PLA showed the maximum material loss, while steel filled composite showed significantly reduced erosion (2.38% and 14.29%, 8.16% and 18.37%, and 16.07% and 26% at 30°, 60° and 90°, respectively) and showed the durability of the materials and their material effective utilization. The presence of embedded steel particles was verified by SEM and confocal microscopy showing that the embedded steel particles really acted as crack stoppers, diverted the crack propagation, minimized plowing and crater formation, and improved the toughness, thus extended the potential service life and supported resource‐efficient engineering solutions. Among all the compositions, the 10 wt% composite showed a better erosion resistance and the smoothest post‐erosion surface owing to a higher particle density with efficiency of stress transfer. Overall, steel reinforcement significantly enhanced the erosion resistance, especially in normal impact conditions and confirmed steel‐filled PLA as a suitable material for components in harsh erosive environments.