Abstract
Despite the large use of composites for industrial applications, their end-of-life management is still an open issue for manufacturing, especially in the wind energy sector. Additive manufacturing technology has been emerging as a solution, enhancing circular economy models, and using recycled composites for glass fiber-reinforced polymers is spreading as a new additive manufacturing trend. Nevertheless, their mechanical properties are still not comparable to pristine materials. The purpose of this paper is to examine the additive re-manufacturing of end-of-life glass fiber composites with mechanical performances that are comparable to virgin glass fiber-reinforced materials. Through a systematic characterization of the recyclate, requirements of the filler for the liquid deposition modeling process were identified. Printability and material surface quality of different formulations were analyzed using a low-cost modified 3D printer. Two hypothetical design concepts were also manufactured to validate the field of application. Furthermore, an understanding of the mechanical behavior was accomplished by means of tensile tests, and the results were compared with a benchmark formulation with virgin glass fibers. Mechanically recycled glass fibers show the capability to substitute pristine fillers, unlocking their use for new fields of application.
Highlights
Nowadays, a great number of end-of-life (EoL) plastic products are continuously being disposed of and less than 30% of this waste is recovered for recycling according to the “European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy” (2018) [1]
The composite market by volume is dominated by glass fiber-reinforced polymers (GFRPs) and one of the manufacturing sectors for GFRPs is the wind energy sector
In order to produce the 3D printable ink formulations for a UV-liquid deposition modeling (LDM) 3D printer, a photo- and thermo-curable acrylic-based resin matrix and virgin or recycled glass fibers were mixed in different percentages
Summary
A great number of end-of-life (EoL) plastic products are continuously being disposed of and less than 30% of this waste is recovered for recycling according to the “European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy” (2018) [1]. Responsible EoL treatments, which may include reusing, recycling and remanufacturing products can be beneficial from an environmental point of view. Within this framework, the treatment of reinforced polymers represents a key challenge for the European Union, because most composites are currently landfilled, even though this waste management practice is the least preferred by the European Waste Framework Directive [2,3]. In light of the above, the application of the circular economy principles to EoL management of composites is one of the challenges of the modern manufacturing industry [4,5]. The amount of wind blade waste across Europe is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades, because of the estimated decommissioning of around
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