Investigation of thermophysical properties of heat-insulating barrier manufactured by incremental rapid prototyping method

This paper presents the results of experimental inv estigation of thermophysical properties of material manufactured with 3D printing t echnology with the use of fused deposition modelling (FDM) method. Cylindrically sha ped samples with a diameter of 50.8 mm and with various fill density (from 10 t o 100%) were prepared. The investigated material was PLA (polylactic acid, pol ylactide). The investigation was carried out in order to determine the density, ther mal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and specific heat of tested material. The ma in aim of this paper was to determine the influence of fill density on thermal condu ctivity. The results can be useful in designing thermal insulation manufactured with r apid prototyping methods, operating in relative low temperature conditions (< 10 0°C).