Development of cashew nut shell lignin-acrylonitrile butadiene styrene 3D printed core and industrial hemp/aluminized glass fiber epoxy biocomposite for morphing wing and unmanned aerial vehicle applications

The aim of this study was to develop a lightweight epoxy based biocomposite for morphing wing and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications. The proposed composite was developed using a 3D printed high stiffness lignin-Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) core and industrial hemp with aluminized glass fiber epoxy skin. The ABS was reinforced using lignin macromolecule derived from cashew nut shells via twin screw extruder and the core was printed using an industrial grade 3D printer. Furthermore, the composites were prepared by compression moulding with an ABS-lignin core and hemp/aluminized GF surface and characterized according to respective American society of testing and materials (ASTM) standards. The findings indicate that the addition of 30 vol% Al-glass and hemp fiber with lignin strengthened ABS core improved the mechanical properties. The composite material designated as “E2” exhibits the maximum mechanical properties, providing tensile strength, flexural strength, Izod impact, interlaminar shear strength (ILSS), and compression values of, 136 MPa, 168 MPa, 4.82 kJ/m², 21 MPa, and 155 MPa respectively. The maximal energy absorbed by composite designation “E2,” during drop load impact test is 20.6 J. Similarly, the composite designation “E2″gives fatigue life cycles of 33,709, 25,781 and 19,633 for 50 %, 70 % and 90 % of ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and 32.5 (K_1c) MPa⋅m and 0.76 (G_1c) MJ/m² in fracture toughness and energy release rate respectively.