Evolution and new horizons in modeling crack mechanics of 3D printing polymeric structures

Three-dimensionally printed parts are widely used to fabricate polymeric structures in industrial applications. The continuous use of these components in practical applications makes them prone to fracture owing to crack propagation. Extensive research articles and reviews have been published to introduce the phenomenon and significance of crack propagation behavior of polymeric structures. However, when these are reviewed with a critical eye, it has been found that a comprehensive effort is still required to compile all these previous research studies with an emphasis on thermomechanical couple loads. During the presented critical review effort, it has been found that the existing research studies and their conclusions are limited in expressing the true crack growth phenomenon for real applications. Therefore, this review concludes that the analytical and empirical study about the crack growth behavior of polymers under the time-dependent coupled loading conditions can be a novel contribution in the academic domain.