In-line monitoring of the fused filament fabrication additive manufacturing process for short fibre-reinforced composites.

In the present work, a combination method of acoustic emission (AE) and infrared thermography (IR) alongside micro-computed tomography has been developed for the detection and monitoring of defects in additively manufactured fibre-reinforced polymer matrix composites. This method allows for the detection of anomalies and defects during the printing process and the verification of their presence in the finished printed structure without the need for destructive testing. Furthermore, a structural assessment of these materials was performed with tensile testing alongside IR monitoring. For both the in-line monitoring and the structural assessment, the correlation between the printing parameters, the presence of defects and anomalies and the mechanical properties was investigated.