Date Approved

7-20-2026

Embargo Period

7-20-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.S. Civil Engineering

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

College

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering

Advisor

William T. Riddell, Ph.D.

Committee Member 1

Joseph F. Stanzione, III, Ph.D.

Committee Member 2

Francis M. Haas, Ph.D.

Committee Member 3

Islam Mantawy, Ph.D.

Committee Member 4

William Johnston

Keywords

Additive Manufacturing;Engineering;Materials Science;Orientations;Polymers;Stereolithography

Disciplines

Civil and Environmental Engineering | Civil Engineering | Engineering

Abstract

Stereolithography (SLA) is an additive manufacturing (AM) technique that utilizes photopolymerization to create three-dimensional shapes by strategically printing layers of material. Printing parameters such as layer orientation, print resolution and post cure can affect a specimen’s homogeneity, longevity and mechanical characteristics. Because of this variability, print parameters must be carefully considered when designing products and print processes for desired components, as manufacturers often fail to include all relevant print settings when advertising mechanical properties. For this study, 130 SLA-printed specimens were created with 100-micron print layer thickness and print orientations varying between 0 and 90, including intermediate orientations, to observe failure behavior and potential trends in ultimate tensile stress and ductility (as defined by deformation beyond ultimate stress). Specimens were designed and tested according to ASTM D638-14 standards, and printed using FormlabsTM Grey V4, White V4 and Tough resins. Specimens printed with print layers parallel to the applied tensile load were found to be 6.53 MPa (13.8%) stronger on average than those printed with print layers perpendicular to the applied tensile load. Most test specimens with print orientation parallel to the tensile stress exhibited ductile failures. However, as the orientation tends toward print layers that are perpendicular to the tensile loads, the specimens become more likely to exhibit brittle behavior at failure.

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