Keywords
polymer piezocomposites
porosity
defect characterisation
extrusion processing
How to Cite
Abstract
Internal defects, such as pores and inclusion-like features, may compromise the structural quality and reliability of polymer piezocomposites. This study appraises the influence of repeated extrusion on the internal defect characteristics of barium titanate (BTO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) polymer piezocomposites using X-ray computed tomography (CT). Six specimens were examined: one BTO and one rGO specimen produced after each of one, two, and three extrusion passes. Reconstructed three-dimensional CT datasets were analysed in VGStudio MAX to quantify pore populations in the BTO specimens and inclusion-like features in the rGO specimens, together with their size- and morphology-related distributions. The BTO pore count decreased from 980 after one extrusion pass to 74 after two passes and 8 after three passes, while the number of detected inclusion-like features in the rGO specimens decreased from 1819 to 314 and 307, respectively. These results show that repeated extrusion was associated with reduced detectable defect populations and changes in defect distributions. The main scientific contribution of this work is the quantitative three-dimensional comparison of processing-induced microstructural changes in two polymer piezocomposite systems using CT-derived defect descriptors. As only one specimen was analysed per condition, further measurements are needed to assess repeatability and statistical significance.
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