Experimental and numerical investigations of the fracture in 3D-printed open-hole plates

In the current study, we investigated mechanical strength and fracture behavior of 3D-printed open-hole plates. To this aim, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polylactic acid (PLA) are used for fabrication of specimens based on FDM technique. Since ratio of the specimen width to the hole diameter (W/D) has influence on the structural integrity of the part, we have printed specimens with two hole diameters. Particularly, specimens with W/D of 3 and 6 were designed and fabricated. Based on a series of tensile tests under static loading conditions, fracture load and stress–strain relationship of the plates are determined. Parallel to the experimental practice, a finite element model a series of finite element analyses were conducted to simulate cracking behavior of the aforementioned specimen. The model is based on phase-field fracture. The model parameters is calibrated based on the data from experiment or reported properties in the literature. Finally, results of the numerical calculations are reported which shows a very well agreement to those from experimental measurement. The outcome of this study can be utilized for future design, development, optimization, and next computational modeling of 3D-printed open-hole plates.