LAUSR

This paper aims to investigate the effect of printing temperature on the thermal and the mechanical behaviour of polylactic acid (PLA)-polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) blend printed using fused deposition modelling (FDM).,Because of the use of an infra-red camera, thermal cycling during the laying down is quantified. In addition, X-ray micro-tomography is considered to reveal the microstructural arrangement within the three-dimensional printed material. Tensile loading conditions are used to derive Young’s modulus, tensile strength and fracture toughness, and relate these to the printing temperature. Finite element computation based on three-dimensional microstructure information is used to predict the role of defects on the tensile performance.,The results show a remarkable cohesive structure of PLA-PHA, particularly at 240°C. This cohesive structure is explained by the ability to ensure heat accumulation during laying down as evidenced by the nature of thermal cycling. The printing temperature is found to be a key factor for tuning the ductility of the printed PLA-PHA allowing full restoration of tensile strength at high printing temperature.,This study reports new results related to the thermo-mechanical behaviour of PLA-PHA that did not receive much attention in three-dimensional printing despite its potential as a candidate for pharmacological and medical applications. This study concludes by a wide range of possible printing temperatures for PLA-PHA and a remarkable low porosity generated by FDM.