Sustainability of ULTEM™ 9085 in Solar Panels and Wind Turbines Renewable Energy Applications

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) simplifies manufacturing processes. However, the quality of end products depends on the type of filament. In this study, the mechanical properties of the high-performance ULTEM™ 9085 filament subjected to thermal shock stress were analyzed. The v-notch shear test was used to determine the change in the properties of v-notch coupons fabricated using the filament. The coupons were subjected to thermal shock stress through temperature cycling for 180 days. The shear properties of conditioned and unconditioned coupons were examined via experiments, finite element analysis, and an analytical thermal model. The application of thermal shock stress decreased shear strength by 22% and the strain to failure by 16%. Temperature affected the fracture point and loading capacity of the coupons. It was concluded that v-notch testing can be used for determining the shear properties of FFF materials that exhibit similar shear stress and strain during loading until failure owing to the stress concentration caused by the expansion of materials and the variation in the moisture content of materials.