Structural and optical behavior of rapidly aged and unaged engineering-grade copolymers produced via fused deposition modeling
This study compares the structural and optical degradation of engineering-grade copolymers compatible with fused deposition modeling (FDM)—i.e., polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG), acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA), and TRITAN™—under 90 cycles of accelerated aging combining ultraviolet (UV) radiation, thermal fluctuations, and humidity. It applies a standardized measurement protocol to 120 test coupons to quantify changes in tensile/compressive strength and chromatic stability (CIE L*a*b* colorimetry, reflectance spectroscopy) before and after aging. PETG demonstrated the highest ultimate tensile strength (UTS) in both pre-aging (24.5 MPa for white, 28.11 MPa for transparent) and post-aging (25.58 MPa and 28.90 MPa, respectively), with minimal mechanical degradation (maximum of 1.55 MPa reduction). In contrast, ASA showed the highest compressive strength (49.49 MPa) but significant losses after weathering (12.7% for white and 10.5% for transparent). TRITAN™ maintained optical clarity (haze below 0.8%) but showed a 9.67% reduction in compressive strength, linked to residual microcracks. The aging induced darkening (reduced perceptual lightness values) and loss of gloss across all materials, with PETG displaying the least chromatic variation (loss of lightness below 5%).
