Improving mechanical and life cycle environmental performances of recycled CFRP automotive component by fibre architecture preservation

Abstract

Recycled carbon fibre reinforced polymer (rCFRP) is attracting interest for automotive applications but has reduced mechanical properties due to a loss of intact fibre architecture. This study investigates the effects of fibre architecture preservation during recycling of carbon fibres on the mechanical and life cycle environmental performances of rCFRP applied to a vehicle roof panel. Results show that rCFRPs with preserved unidirectional and woven fibre architectures have average flexural properties at least 4 times higher than those of current rCFRP with unpreserved fibre architecture. A hypothetical rCFRP roof panel with preserved plain woven rCF reduces the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions by 11% and 23% compared to the current rCFRP, respectively, when used in gasoline vehicle and battery electric vehicle. This paper demonstrates that the recycling approach with fibre architecture preservation offers great opportunities to improve the mechanical and environmental performances of rCFRP for use in the automotive industry.