Investigation of Shrinkage-induced Stresses in
Stereolithography Photo-curable Resins
by D. Karalekas, D. Rapti, E. E. Gdoutos, and A. Aggelopoulos
ABSTRACT--An experimental study has been undertaken
to investigate the shrinkage characteristics of acrylic-based
and epoxy-based stereolithography (SL) photopolymer resin
systems after they have been laser cured and post-cured
under ultraviolet (UV), and thermal exposure. The induced
residual stresses and strains were determined by the shadow
moire and the hole-drilling strain-gage methods. Out-of-plane
displacements (warpage) of acrylic-based post-cured resin
plates were recorded by means of the shadow moire method
and correlated to the shrinkage strains by theoretical analy-
sis. The induced residual stresses in the epoxy-based cylin-
drical resin specimens were determined from strains of three-
element strain-gage rosettes of the blind-hole drilling method.
Results are presented for the shrinkage stresses and strains
for both material systems as a function of the post-curing pro-
cess (UV, thermal). It was found that the shrinkage strains
in the acrylic-based photopolymer resin were of consider-
able magnitude, while thermal post-curing resulted in higher
shrinkage stresses for both material systems. The values of
the shrinkage stresses compare well with those of the existing
literature.
KEY WORDS--Residual stresses, strains, photopolymer
resins, shadow moire, ultraviolet exposure, hole-drilling
method, curing, post-curing, stereolithography
Introduction
The most commonly used materials nowadays for fabri-
cation of rapid prototyping (RP) parts are the photopolymer
resin systems. These materials experience shrinkage upon
changing from liquid to solid during the layer-by-layer laser
curing process. Furthermore, they experience shrinkage after
they have been post-cured to complete the polymerization
and improve the mechanical strength and toughness of the
prototype. 1 Shrinkage of the successively built layers can
result in internally generated residual stresses and, subse-
quently, in strain deformations leading to considerable curl
distortion of the multi-layered stereolithography (SL) parts.
Residual stresses generated during SL building and post-
curing can be responsible for creep distortions, which may
occur long after the RP part is fabricated or cause cracks and
delamination within the part thus affecting its final accuracy
and quality.
D. Karatekas is an Assistant Professor and A. Aggelopoulos is a Graduate
Student, University of Pireaus, GR-I85 34, Pireaus, Greece. D. Rapti is a
Graduate Student and E.E. Gdoutos (SEM Member) is a Professor, Dem-
ocritus University of Thrace, GR-671 O0 Xanthi, Greece.
Original manuscript submitted: September 25, 2001.
Final manuscript received: June 4, 2002.
During the last few years, significant research and develop-
ment efforts have been undertaken to improve the SL process.
Various studies have been undertaken to investigate the cur-
ing characteristics of photopolymers used in the SL process
and the mechanisms of the resulting shrinkage. 2-6 Differ-
ential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and differential scanning
photo-calorimetry (DSP) techniques have been employed to
measure the extent of curing and shrinkage in acrylic-based
photopolymers. 7
The problem of shrinkage that accompanies photopoly-
merization in the SL process has been studied in the literature.
A shrinkage model, which computes specific volume changes
from the degree of conversion of monomer to polymer, has
been applied to the SL process by Flach and Chartoff. 8,9
A study of the amount of shrinkage under certain exposure
conditions has been performed by Chartoff et al. ~~ Shrink-
age depends not only on the polymerization kinetics, shrink-
age kinetics and overall degree of cure, but also on the time
taken to draw a line of plastic. The amount of shrinkage de-
creases as the time taken to draw a line increases. 11 Ullett
et al. 12 measured the linear shrinkage of an acrylate and an
epoxy-based SL resin during cure, They found that cure depth
and strand shrinkage are functions of delay time. Weissman
e t al. 13 have introduced a technique to obtain real-time lin-
ear shrinkage data for photopolymers formed via a scanning
ultraviolet (UV) laser. They found that the ultimate shrink-
age and the shrinkage rate depend on the amount of energy
used to polymerize the polymers. Furthermore, they deter-
mined the residual stresses in models constructed by the SL
process. Ullett et al. 14 have developed a software package to
manipulate vector files and change the pattern by which lay-
ers, slices are filled in- They used this software to study the
effects of draw pattern (the order in which strands are drawn
by the laser), vector segmentation and cure depth on warpage
of parts of different sizes. They measured out-of-plane deflec-
tions of part surfaces by moire. From the results of this study
it was concluded that significant reductions in warpage can
be achieved by the use of novel draw styles. Measurements
of linear shrinkage in real time on "full line" exposures of
three photopolymers were performed by Weissman e t aL ~5
The shrinkage and internal stress of bisphenol-type epoxide
resins were studied by Shimbo et al, 16 A direct experimental
method for the determination of chemical cure shrinkage of
resin-based material systems has been reported by measuring
the warpage of specimen plates. 17,18
The objective of the present work is to determine the
magnitude of,the shrinkage strains and stresses resulting af-
ter the laser solidification and post-curing procedure of two
Experimental Mechanics 9 439
 80
70
60
n was first developed by Daniel et al. is and used to obtain the
50 /"
40/
30 / - - Green State
2O UV Postcure
Thermal Postcure
10
0 I I I I I I , I I
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Strain, ~, (%)
Fig. 1--Representative tensile stress-strain curves for an
epoxy-based photopolymer resin system
typical SL photopolymer resin systems by employing two
well-known experimental techniques for residual stress de-
termination, namely the shadow moir6 and hole-drilling
methods.
Experimental Procedure
Materials and Specimens
Two commonly used resin material's for building SL parts
were investigated. The first was an acrylic-based photopoly-
mer, EXACTOMER 2202SF (AlliedSignal Inc.), while the
second was an epoxy-based photopolymer, SOMOS 7110
(DSM Somos Inc.). An EOS Stereos Desktop SL system us-
ing an UV laser beam was employed to produce the spec-
imens for measuring the residual strains and obtaining the
mechanical properties of the photopolymer resins. Liquid
thin resin layers of 0.156 mm (6.14 x 10 .3 in) thickness
were laser cured (all layers were scanned in the same direc-
tion) during the SL layer-by:layer building process to form
acrylic-based square laminate plates of dimensions 10 x 10
x 3.3 cm 3 (3.9 x 3.9 x 1.3 in 3) for the projection moir6 test-
ing, and epoxy-based cylindrical specimens of dimensions
6 cm (2.4 in) diameter and 1 cm (0.4 in) thickness for the
hole-drilling measurements. All test specimens were built
employing a hatching space of 0.05 mm and a curing depfi)
of 35 mm. The test specimens were post-cured by placing half
of them in an UV chamber for 4 h and the remaining in an
oven at 60~ (140~ for the same length of time. The elastic
mechanical properties of the resins at green state (laser cured)
and as a function of the followed post-curing processing were
obtained by testing laser built dog-bone coupons. The basic
material properties at green state for the resin systems are
shown in Table 1, while typical stress-strain curves for the
epoxy-based photopolymer under green state, UV post-cure
and thermal post-cure are plotted in Fig. 1.
The Shadow MoirO Method
The shadow moir~ method was used to investigate the
shrinkage strains in the acrylic-based resin systems in which
considerable post-cure shrinkage distortions have been re-
440 9 Vo1.~42,No. 4, December2002
ported in parts built of such a photo-curable material, l-3 The
warpage of SL cured and post-treated resin plates was first
measured and then the elastic lamination theory was used to
calculate the polymerization shrinkage strains. This method
chemical cure shrinkage in epoxy matrix laminates.
A second layer-plate of the same acrylic photopolymer and
thickness; and laser-scan orientation was laser-stacked on top
of an initially fully cured plate. The whole assembly was then
post-treated in an UV or thermal chamber. If it is assumed
that both cured layers exhibit the same degree of resin poly-
merization at the end of the curing/post-curing process and
I undergo the same thermal expansions, any warpage observed
9 10 after the selected post-treatment process of the two-layer lam-
inate is due to the additional polymerization shrinkage that
only the new half-layer undergoes.
The out-of-plane deflection (warpage) of the SL formed
resin plates was measured by means of the shadow moir6
method. 17-19 This method is ideal for obtaining full-field
contour maps of large surfaces. A master grating is placed
in front of the resin specimen and is illuminated by a colli-
mated light beam at an angle to the grating. The grating and
its shadow on the surface of the specimen produce a fringe
pattern when viewed normally to the master grating. The out-
of-plane displacement, w, is given by 19
pn
u) - (1)
tan qJ '
where p is the grating pitch, n is the fringe order, and q) is
the angle of incidence of the oblique light beam.
A grating with a pitch of 0.56 mm (8 lines in -1) was used.
It was positioned in front of the laminate specimen at a short
distance from its surface. A 35 mm slide projector was used
as a light source, illuminating the specimen at an angle of 45 ~
with respect to the normal of the grating. Fringe patterns were
viewed normally to the grating and recorded with a digital
camera. The experimental setup is shown in Fig. 2, while
typical moir6 fringe patterns are shown in Figs. 3-6. The
fringes obtained represent the loci of points of constant out-
of-plane deflection. The difference in deflections between
two neighboring fringes is equal to one grating pitch. The
fringe patterns were analyzed by the theory presented in the
following section. Various fringes were used to increase the
accuracy.
The Hole-Drilling Method
The hole-drilling strain-gage method is a widely used tech-
nique for measuring residual stresses. The method consists
of drilling a shallow hole up to a depth equal to the hole di-
ameter. The introduction of a hole into a residually stressed
body relieves the stresses at that location. A three-element
strain-gage rosette is used to measure the relieved strains.
The original in-plane residual stresses are calculated from
the relieved strains following a standardized procedure. 2~
Residual strains were measured using a high-speed air tur-
bine RS-200 Milling Cutter by drilling a 1.59 mm (0.0626
in) diameter hole incrementally up to a total depth of 1.9 mm
(0.,075 in). A Micro-Measurement strain-gage rosette, type
TEA-06-062RK-120, was applied on cylindrical SL fabri-
cated specimens and used to measure the relieved strains dur-
ing the blind-hole drilling procedure. The measured strains
were average values over the gage lengths. As recommended
TABLE 1--MEASURED MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF STUDIED PHOTOPOLYMER RESINS
Elastic Ultimate Tensile Ultimate Tensile
Modulus, Stress, Strain
Photopolymer E ~, Eu
System GPa ksi MPa ksi (%)
1. Acrylic-based
1.1 Green state 1.90 275 62.5 9.1 7.0
2. Epoxy-based
2.1 Green state 2.40 348 52.8 7.6 5.2
2.2 UV post-cured 2.45 355 53.0 7.7 4.7
2.3 Thermal post-cured 2.70 392 58.7 8.5 8.0

Light Source
Digital
Camera ~"]L Z

t Y
{out of plane)

T~nsmitted
LighIintensity
Gra~ng
S~eimen

Fig. 2--Schematic representation of experimental setup for

measuring out-of-plane deflections Fig. 4--Projection moir6 pattern for a two-layer acrylic-based
resin laminate after UV post-curing

Fig. 5--Projection moir6 pattern for a two-layer acrylic-based

Fig. 3--Projection moir6 pattern for a two-layer acrylic-based resin laminate before thermal post-curing
resin laminate before UV post-curing

Calculation of Stresses and Strains

in ASTM E837-92, the hole was drilled in small increments
of 0.159 mm (6.26 x 10.3 in) depth. The relieved strains
from all three gages in the strain-gage rosette were recorded
at each depth. The original in-plane residual stresses were cal-
culated from therelieved strains according to a standardized
procedure.
Polymerization Shrinkage Strains
The fabricated laminate plates used in the shadow moir6
tests were analyzed as laminates consisting of two parallel
orthotropic layers, of equal thickness and thermal and me-
chanical properties under conditions of plane stress. 17"19,22
After subjecting the laminate plate to the second curing and

Experimental Mechanics 9 441

 Solving eqs (4) and (7) we obtain

8hw 8hw
c ~ (8)
e1- 3ot2 e2- 3132.

Thus, the components of strain due to chemical shrinkage,

as they were determined by the method presented above, are
independent of the material properties of the layers.

Residual Stresses

The relieved strains measured by one of the strain gages are

related to the principal in-plane residual stresses as follows

8r = ((smax Jr- (smin)A + ((smax - (stain) B cos 20, (9)

Fig. 6--Projection moire pattern for a two-layer acrylic-based
resin laminate after thermal post-curing
post-curing process, the residual strains, in layer i due to
chemical shrinkage, are assumed to be zero, that is
ex 0
where (smax and (smin are the maximum and minimum prin-
cipal residual stresses, and 0 is the angle from the gage axis
to the maximum principal stress direction. The values of the
calibration coefficients A and B depend on the elastic prop-
erties of the studied material, the rosette geometry, and the
diameter and depth of the hole. The material dependency of
A and B, leaving only the geometric dependence, is handled
by introducing and using two new material-independent co-
efficients, denoted as ~ and/~. Their determination is fully

I;1 [01
e
c
Le.J
= . (2)
described in Refs. 20 and 21.

aS
From eqs (9) the principal residual stresses are determined

The unrestrained chemical shrinkage strain in layer 2 is (5max, O'min = [(83 Jr- 81)/4A] + {[(83 q- 81) 2

+ (83 + 81 - 2c2)2]-1/2)/4B (10a)

c = , (3)

L-exy-I 2 0 = 1/2 arctan[(s3 + ~1 - 2s2)/(83 + Sl)], (10b)

where the x- and y-axes coincide with the principal material where 0 is the angle measured clockwise from the location
axes (1- and 2-), obtained along and perpendicular to the scan of gage 1 to the direction of (smax.20'21
direction.
The shrinkage strains in the x- and y-axes of the model Results and Discussion
laminate are related to the laminate curvatures as
From the fringe patterns in Figs. 3-6, we measured the
major and minor axes of the concentric elliptical fringes cor-
-if- Ky ke~J' responding to integral (dark) and half (light) fringe order of
length ct and [3. These values and the corresponding fringe
where h is the thickness of the layer in the z coordinate, and order, n, were used in eqs (1) and (8) to obtain several sets
of values for the polymerization shrinkage strains, e~ and e~,
02ll) 32W 202w for the grating used.
Kx -- OX 2 Ky -- Kxy -- , (5) Laser curing of the second resin layer on top of the first
Oy2 3xOy
layer resulted in significant out-of-plane deflection of the
where w is the out-of-plane displacement. By integrating laminate plate, as can be observed in Fig. 7. The shadow moir6
eqs (5) we obtain for w at any point on a square laminate method applied to curved laminates gave fringe patterns con-
sisting of concentric elliptical black and white fringes (Figs.
w(x, y) = - ~ '( Kx x 2 + Kyy 2 ) , (6) 3-6). Distinct differences were noted for the fringe patterns
before and after post-treatment. During post-curing of the
two-layer laminate, the second layer shrinks additionally, as
where Kx and Ky are the mid-plane curvatures of the lami- it is further polymerized, leading to an increase of the out-
nate plate.18,22 Thus, contours of equal deflection are ellipses. of-plane deflection. Post-curing of the laminate plates under
This was confirmed by experiment. Each elliptical fringe cor- UV exposure resulted in the formation of circular fringes, in-
responds to a specific value of deflection wn. dicating that the laminate plate shrinks proportionally along
For an elliptical fringe with semi-axes c~ and [3 along the its plane directions. When post-curing took place in the ther-
x- and y-axes and for a deflection w, we obtain: mal chamber, the fringes were of elliptical shape, exhibiting
higher shrinkage in the y-axis of the plate. The average values
2w 2w
Kx = K 1 -- (Z2 Ky = K2 = --~-. (7) of measured shrinkage strains for the additionally polymer-
ized test specimens are presented in Table 2.

442 9 Vol. 42, No. 4, December 2002

TABLE 2--AVERAGE VALUES OF STRAINS DUE TO CHEMICAL SHRINKAGE IN THE ACRYLIC-BASED PHOTOPOLYMER
Post-treatment -e~ x 10 -6 -e~. x 10 -6
UV 4480 4480
Thermal 4620 6230

TABLE 3--CALCULATED PRINCIPAL RESIDUAL STRESSES IN THE EPOXY-BASED PHOTO-POLYMER

Green State UV Post-curing Thermal Post-curing
--~ --qmin --C~max --Gmin --O'max --O'min
kPa psi kPa psi kPa psi kPa psi kPa psi kPa psi
1425 207 462 67 2798 406 1433 208 3379 490 2112 306

TABLE 4--CALCULATED PRINCIPAL RESIDUAL STRAINS IN THE EPOXY-BASED PHOTOPOLYMER

Green State UV Post-curing Thermal Post-curing
--gmaxX 10 -6 --8minx 10 -6 --Smax 10 -6 --Stainx 10 -6 --SmaxX 10 -6 --Stainx 10 -6
127 7 257 61 778 98

as well as those by Kamarchik and Jurczak 23 on some UV

curved polyesters (2-4 MPa).

Fig. 7--Out-of-plane deformation of a two-layer acrylic resin
laminate
From the stress-strain curves of Fig. 1, it is observed that
the thermally post-cured specimens, at 60~ (140~ have
higher values of elastic modulus, ultimate tensile strength,
and elongation to fracture than those of green state and UV
post-cured, respectively. Examination of the results demon-
strates that the epoxy-based resin system acquires most of
its mechanical strength properties during its initial polymer-
ization cycle (green state). Additional post-curing inside a
UV chamber has not enhanced its mechanical properties any
further.
The calculated principal residual stresses and strains at
maximum hole depth, listed in Tables 3 and 4 as functions of
the investigated post-processing procedures, were found to be
of low compressive magnitude. Characteristically, the prin-
cipal residual stresses were well below the experimentally
determined yield stress of the resin system. The lowest resid-
ual stresses were calculated for the laser-cured state (green
state), while their magnitude increased as a result of the fol-
lowed UV and thermal post-curing processes. The values of
the residual stresses compare well with the value of 570 psi
(3.93 MPa) obtained by Weissman e t al.13 for a Cibatool
XB5081 resin, and the values obtained by Shimbo e t al. 16
on some thermally cured epoxy samples (2.93-6.46 MPa),
Conclusions
An experimental investigation was undertaken to de-
termine the magnitude of the shrinkage-induced residual
stresses and strains in two laser solidified photopolymers used
in the fabrication of SL parts. The shadow moir6 and the hole-
drilling strain-gage methods were used. It was obtained that
the acrylic-based resin plates exhibit considerable warpage
upon removal from the vat, while the calculated shrinkage
strains were of considerable magnitude. On the other hand,
for the epoxy-based resin system the relaxed residual strains
measured during the introduction of a very small hole were
of low magnitude. These values compare well with those of
the existing literature. For both material systems, further UV
and thermal post-curing treatment resulted in higher residual
stresses and strains
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