Temperature effects on tensile properties of laser sintered polyamide 12

Abstract This paper focuses on a study of temperature effects on tensile properties of a polyamide 12 based polymer. Specimens for testing were generated using the additive manufacturing process of laser sintering. Tensile tests were conducted according to DIN EN ISO 527 at temperatures between 20 °C and 140 °C. A Zwick 250N5A was used for the tests. Fine strain up to 0.25 % was measured using a MTS biaxial extensometer. Crosshead displacement was recorded as well and used for generation of stress-strain curves. Within the paper, Young's modulus, Poisson ratio, tensile strength, tensile strain at tensile strength, stress and elongation at break and yielding are reported. The study showed that all analyzed mechanical properties depend significantly on temperature. Above 100 °C strain raised up to 100 %, however, it was limited by the traveling limit of the machine. The collected data were embedded in a table-driven elastic plastic material model for finite element simulation of tensile tests. Good agreements of simulations and experiments were obtained at all temperatures.